The brilliant second wine, the 2006 Les Forts de Latour, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, possesses a dense ruby/purple color, a beautiful bouquet of asphalt, cassis, cedar, truffles, and earth, and a full-bodied, dense, beautiful style that is similar to a 1996 Pauillac. It will age effortlessly for 15 years.Latour-s brilliant manager, Frederic Engerer, has purchased 15 hectares of old vine Grenache and Syrah in the Cotes du Rhone region, the Drome, at a cool-climate elevation. I can-t wait to see the first vintage from this Cotes du Rhone project.
The 2006 Les Forts de Latour has a much more precise and lively bouquet than the Le Petit Mouton: blackberry, briary and vanilla emerging from the glass, suggesting that it needs another couple of years to reach its peak. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, commendable depth of fruit and tangible mineralité. This is better than some of the Pauillac Grand Vins, such is the detail and energy on the finish. Superb.
Very solid, with an excellent core of fruit and chewy tannins, but not too aggressive. Full body. Medium finish. Well done.
Described by director Frédéric Engerer as the little sister of the big brother. Rain diluted the Forts vineyards more than the Enclos because the drainage is not as good. Engerer feels there is something slightly lacking on the finish and for the first time it really is a ‘second wine’. They might even reblend it as it is quite light and add more press wine (currently 8% press wine in the blend). I wonder whether it’s the newer parcels or the vintage that has reduced the impact of this wine? 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot. 47% of total production.
Mid crimson with a slightly weak rim. Very spicy nose with some real richness. Great life and lift and zest. Lots of energy. Not massively weighty. Tight and very fine tannins. Somehow it gives the impression of alcohol even though it’s only 13.25%. Very fine, not too chunky. Quite unusually delicate and fine. Very focussed! Very harmonious but much less galumphing than usual.
Deep ruby-red. Black fruits, licorice, minerals, tobacco and iron on the complex nose. The wine's sweetness almost comes as a shock, but the creamy blueberry and blackberry fruit flavors are given lift and clarity by firm acidity and solid underlying minerality. Finishes with sweet tannins and subtle persistence. An unusually accessible young Forts de Latour, and riper than it appeared to be in the early going: as I recall, its supple character is partly attributable to the fact that it includes a good bit of declassified Latour merlot but less Latour press wine than usual.
Latour’s second wine, the 2006 Les Forts de Latour, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, does not possess the depth of its bigger sibling. Nevertheless, it offers sweet, ripe berry fruit, crushed rock, smoke, and earth characteristics along with good precision and savoriness. It should drink nicely for 15-20 years.
Tasted at Latour. To be honest, I was a little nonplussed by this normally excelling Second label. The nose is closed at first, before rigorous swirling reveals cedar, blackberry and raspberry with a touch of cassis. The palate has an unusually soft mouth feel, making it much more approachable than other vintages. More puppy fat than I expected. Good length, this Forts de Latour just lacks the breeding I have come to expect. Tasted April 2007.
