Pauillac de Latour 2018

The 2018 Le Pauillac de Château Latour is a blend of 56.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30.8% Merlot and 12.3% Petit Verdot. It has 14.1% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 76. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with bold notes of black cherries, black raspberries and dark chocolate giving way to notions of blackcurrant pastilles, potpourri and cinnamon toast. Medium-bodied, elegant and refreshing with plush tannins and loads of mineral sparks accenting the fruits, it finishes with a skip in its step. Drink: 2023-2039

The 2018 Pauillac de Latour, bottled in June 2020, has a floral, almost Margaux-like bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit infused with crushed violet and a nuanced pencil box note in the background. The palate is medium-bodied and quite animated upon opening. The acidity is a little more heightened than I expected. With modest weight, the 2018 is linear yet reassuringly elegant towards the finish. Contemplating this Troisième Vin, maybe it is more low-key than expected, but in a positive sense. It should drink well over the next decade. 2023-2033

Firm, very silky and driven with blackberry and currant. Medium to full body, chewy texture and a lightly austere finish. Chewy and polished third wine of Latour

This is a Pauillac de Latour with clear spice and kick, with an exuberant texture from alcohol that is higher than usual after the hottest summer since 2003, alongside abundant raspberry, blueberry and black cherry fruit, spiced sandalwood and concentrated mint. 24hl/ha yield after mildew, with 21% of production going into this wine, 5.7% press wine. First year of organic certification, with biodynamic farming fully practised. Hélène Genin technical director, harvest September 17 to October 11.

56.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30.8% Merlot, 12.3% Petit Verdot. 21% of production. Barrel sample. Black core and purple rim. Lightly stony cassis, scented and pure. Dry, dense and chocolate-textured tannins. A bit of a curtain of tannin but the fruit seeps round the edges. Generous fruit and open apart from the tannin framework. Sweet fruited on the finish. (JH)
Drink 2023-2028

Deep ruby in the glass, with creamy vanilla, rich blueberry fruit and a touch of smokiness on the nose. The palate is rich and rounded with sweet tannins, but has a fantastic cut of fresh acidity that tames the ripe blue and black fruits at the core. Earthy and cedary as well as ripe, this builds to a long and intense finish of great purity.

Based on 59.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30.8% Merlot, and a whopping 12.3% Petit Verdot (this cuvée accounts for 21% of the total production of the estate), the 2018 Le Pauillac De Château Latour is impressive, and certainly an outstanding wine. Classic crème de cassis, violets, menthol, and complex floral notes all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, seamless, elegant wine. It continues to open up beautifully with time in the glass and I suspect will keep for 15 years or more. The best third wine out there? I'd say unquestionably.

(56.9 Cabernet Sauvignon, 30.8 Merlot, 12.4 Petit Verdot) | 14.1% alc | 76 IPT | 21% of production There is a large slug of Petit Verdot in here because it didn’t make it into the Grand Vin or Forts. The vivid purple hue is certainly arresting and forceful on the palate and this is a good Pauillac and it opens up to reveal violet and graphite notes and the finish is fit, too. Well-made and rather roguish.