Chateau Latour 2011
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96
Wine Spectator
This has a gorgeous core of steeped plum, boysenberry and black currant coulis flavors, backed by a prominent graphite note that drives through the lengthy finish, where extra hints of anise and sweet tobacco flitter in the background. Regal. Best from 2018 through 2035. 5,835 cases made.
Big tannins and impressive fruits are the hallmarks of this impressive wine. It is also subtle, not showing all its flavors at once, hiding beneath tannins and structure. For this fruity vintage, it shows a strong sense of direct, solid structure, only allowing the strong black plum and berry flavors to come through slowly. It is for the long haul, so don’t drink before 2022, even better later.
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Chateau Latour 2014
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99
James Suckling
This has aromas of black fruit, olives, wet earth, dried lavender, cloves and bark. Bitter chocolate and walnuts, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Structured, with great freshness and length. Cedar notes on the lighter mid-palate. Still a little tight and chewy. Try from 2024.
The 2014 Latour is one of the very finest wines of a vintage that favored the northern Médoc. Mingling aromas of wild berries and cassis with hints of cigar wrapper, loamy soil, black truffles and classy new oak, it’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated, its broad attack segueing into a deep, tightly wound mid-palate that’s framed by powdery, chalky tannins and bright acids, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. This classically balanced, youthfully structured young wine looks set to enjoy prodigious longevity. It’s reminiscent of a modern-day version of a cooler vintage such as 1996, though of course these days maturity is more complete and selection even more rigorous than was the case two decades ago.
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Chateau Latour 2015
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96
Wine Advocate
A rich and demonstrative vintage for this estate, the 2015 Latour unfurls in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cassis, loamy soil, espresso roast, pencil shavings and a subtle hint of potpourri. Medium to full-bodied, supple and elegant, with a velvety attack that segues into a sweet, layered mid-palate, it’s enveloping and complete, concluding with a sapid finish. The tauter, more classical 2014 is likely to prove longer lived, whereas the giving 2015 is a Latour that it wouldn’t be a crime to drink young.
The 2015 Latour has such a refined nose that’s perhaps more laid back than other vintages, unfolding with blackberry, raspberry, cedar and pencil shavings. This is discreet yet compelling and wonderfully delineated. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, exquisite balance, real weight and tension. This has a long and tender, graphite-tinged finish. As I wrote before: cool, calm and collected. Superb.
Containing one of the largest ever percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon, partly because the Merlot wasn’t up to snuff, this is a very pure, focused wine of considerable power and intensity. Pauillac at its very best, with stylish tannins and the concentration to age for two decades or more. Drink: 2028-40
This is extremely compressed and elegant with fantastic finesse and structure. Full body, tight and racy. Lots of black currants and black berries. The quality of tannins are like tight, yet velvety tannins. Very minerally.
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