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.
Deep garnet-black in color, the 2014 Château Latour needs a little swirling to unlock sophisticated scents of unsmoked cigars, Indian spices, smoked meats, and espresso over a core of cassis, baked plums, and boysenberry preserves, plus suggestions of dried mint and crushed rocks. The light to medium-bodied palate has a solid foundation of firm, grainy tannins and compelling tension framing the savory flavor layers, finishing with great length and impressive earthy fireworks. This vintage delivers a remarkably understated, quiet intensity, making it as deliciously drinkable as it is cerebral. Possessing approachable tannins and emerging tertiary notes while maintaining its core of black fruit preserves, it is delicious right now. It should continue to improve over the next decade and cellar for another 15+ years beyond that. The blend is 89.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.2% Merlot, 0.6% Cabernet Franc, and 0.3% Petit Verdot, while the alcohol weighs in at 12.89%. 2022-2047
Tasted blind. Big and bold and spicy with intensity. So much on the end! Massive density. Dry tannins but luscious fruit too. Really pure and so Pauillac!
Drink 2026-2050
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 depth, power and just sheer confidence of Latour shines through. This is an extremely classic 2014 - everything in focus, with clarity, grip and poise, sculpted blackcurrant and blackberry fruits, touches of raspberry leaf and crushed rocks. Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, still strict and muscular in its tannins, with heft and width through the palate. As it opens graphite, violet and campfire smoke curls through the centre of the wine, along with slow and steady waves of saffron and sage spice. Easily one of the wines of the vintage, and one to take your time with, allowing the slow progression of flavours and textures to unroll at their own pace. It will benefit from another few years in bottle before really getting underway, and has decades ahead. Eric Boissenot consultant, Hélène Génin technical director. Harvest September 18 September to October 15.
Deeper, richer, more concentrated, and stately than the Les Forts De Latour, the 2014 Château Latour is the wine of the vintage from the Médoc. Possessing a flawless, full-bodied, sexy and surprisingly open style on the palate, it’s relatively closed aromatically and only reluctantly gives up notes of cassis, chocolate, and lead pencil shavings. With incredible tannin quality, a layered, concentrated mid-palate, perfect balance and a great finish, it’s a classic Latour, as well as one of the few 2014s that demands cellaring. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and I suspect it will continue drinking nicely over the following three decades. 2023 - 2053
This shows terrific cut and drive from the start, with mouthwatering acidity and a chiseled graphite note leading the way, backed by a core of pure cassis and blackberry preserves. Licorice snap and sweet tobacco details flitter through the finish, where the graphite edge reemerges and sails on and on. Best from 2022 through 2040. 7,632 cases made.
Will this prove to be a great Latour in years to come? I certainly think so. This is effortlessly concentrated, yet has less than 13% alcohol. Deeply coloured, aromatic, stylish and poised, it's all graphite, violets, dark berries, red fruit and tapering palate length. Beautifully balanced.
So much violets, licorice, pencil, flowers and currants define this on the nose before it moves to fresh mushrooms. It’s full-bodied yet compacted with tension and a compressed center palate. Incredible, fine-grained tannins and energy. The length is truly great. Should be even more beautiful in 2024. Give it time.
The 2014 Latour, which was bottled in July 2016, but of course will not be released for several years depending upon subsequent vintages, has a very pure, tightly-wound bouquet with blackberry fruit infused with black olive and graphite, just as it was out of barrel during en primeur. After several minutes, it is joined by subtle hints of pressed violets. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This is very classic in style, exhibiting superb freshness and harmony, the texture perhaps a little silkier than I recollect from barrel. It fans out with a very attractive marine influence that it shares with its neighbor Léoville Las-Cases, whilst the persistence is very impressive and reinforces its First Growth pedigree. This should be a quintessential Latour once released: aristocratic and noble. Drink Date 2025-2055
The Château Latour 2014 is a blend of 89.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9.2% Merlot, with a pinch of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Harvest took place from 18 September with the Merlot vines and finished with the Cabernet, picked between 6 and 15 October. The alcohol level here comes in at a modest 12.89%. It has a very pure and seductive bouquet with an irresistible cocktail of black and red fruit (perhaps more towards the red side of the fruit spectrum compared to Lafite-Rothschild), flanked by hints of black olive and pencil lead. The palate is underpinned by a lattice of very fine tannin matched with well-judged acidity. Despite the irregularity of the season this is quintessential Latour with that unmistakable stoic, aristocratic finish. This is a serious Grand Vin that should age in consummate fashion, and there is some irony that possibly the finest contribution to the 2014 vintage will not be made available to consumers for a number of years. In a word - regal. Drink: 2025-2050.
Aromas on this are so complex already with blackcurrants, red chilies, stones and iodine. Then it turns to blackcurrants and blueberries. Full-bodied, yet tight and compressed with an extraordinary finish and intensity. This goes on for minutes. Vibrant. A good part of the production is made with biodynamically grown grapes. Alcohol is less than 13%.
Incredible depth of colour. More perfumed than usual for Latour. Maybe the biodynamic influence is kicking in. Different balance (see that of Palmer 2014 too). Racy and lifted and very different from the dense minerally style of old. Great balance and almost delicate. But not wimpy. Thanks to the feminine touch perhaps? Mineral underneath. Chewy but lifted and ethereal. Such energy! A most interesting wine. See its relatively low alcohol. 12.89%
Drink 2025-2045
