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Latour 1982

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon

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Label

Tasting Notes

The 1982 Latour was dense, ruby/purple with incredible opulence and sweetness of fruit, beautifully ripe tannin, and a long, layered finish that went well past a minute. 1982 is a legend and a more modern-day version of the 1961.

100
Robert Parker, Hedonists Gazette, February 2016

One of the three or four very greatest wines of the vintage, the 1982 Latour delivers aromas of dark berry fruit, rich cigar wrapper, loamy soil, walnuts and smoke. Full-bodied, broad and layered, it's deep, seamless and immensely concentrated, its fleshy core framed by sweet, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, expansive finish. A monument to the greatness of Bordeaux, it is one wine that's worthy of all the praise that has been lavished on it over the years.

100
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (264), December 2022

Open earthy, round leather and truffle aromas with soft red fruits, cherry and strawberry, sous bois and mushroom, damp earth, very good long complex, soft and elegant. Slightly disappointing length. Drink 2002-2025Date tasted 7th July 09

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, September 2009
Read more tasting notes...

Always somewhat atypical (which I suspect will be the case with the more modern day 2003), the 1982 Latour has been the most opulent, flamboyant, and precocious of the northern Medocs, especially the St.-Juliens, Pauillacs, and St.-Estephes. It hasn't changed much over the last 10-15 years, revealing sweet tannins as well as extraordinarily decadent, even extravagant levels of fruit, glycerin, and body. It is an amazing wine, and on several occasions, I have actually picked it as a right bank Pomerol because of the lushness and succulence of the cedary, blackberry, black currant fruit. This vintage has always tasted great, even in its youth, and revealed a precociousness that one does not associate with this Chateau. However, the 1982 is still evolving at a glacial pace. The concentration remains remarkable, and the wine is a full-bodied, exuberant, rich, classic Pauillac in its aromatic and flavor profiles. It's just juiced up (similar to an athlete on steroids) and is all the better for it. This remarkable effort will last as long as the 1982 Mouton, but it has always been more approachable and decadently fruity. Drink it now, in 20 years, and in 50 years! Don't miss it if you are a wine lover.

100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (183), June 2009

This is an unusual Latour in the fact that it has always been precocious.It has been jammy, forward, and delicious no matter when the cork was pulled, in total contrast to its two Pauillac first-growth siblings, Mouton Rothschild and Lafite Rothschild.The dense, opaque garnet-coloured 1982 Latour reveals slight amber at the edge. Sweet, smokey, roasted aromas in the nose combine with jammy levels of black currant, cherry and prune-like fruit. It possesses extroadinary concentration and unctuosity, with a thick, fat texture oozing notes of cedar wood, tobacco, coffee, and overripe fruit. Low acidity as well as high alcohol (for Bordeaux) give the wine even more glycerin and textural chewiness. The finish lasts forever.The only Latour that remotely resembles the 1982 is the 1961, which has a similar texture and succulence. Anticipated maturity :now-2040

100
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

As I indicated in the review of the 1982 Bordeaux, this is an unusual Latour in the fact that it has always been precocious. It has been jammy, forward, and delicious no matter when the cork was pulled, in total contrast to its two first-growth siblings, Mouton Rothschild and Lafite-Rothschild. The dense, opaque garnet-colored 1982 Latour reveals slight amber at the edge. Sweet, smoky, roasted aromas in the nose combine with jammy levels of black currant, cherry, and prune-like fruit. It possesses extraordinary concentration and unctuosity, with a thick, fat texture oozing notes of cedar wood, tobacco, coffee, and over-ripe fruit. Low acidity as well as high alcohol (for Bordeaux) give the wine even more glycerin and textural chewiness. The finish lasts forever. The only Latour that remotely resembles the 1982 is the 1961, which has a similar texture and succulence. Anticipated maturity: now-2040

100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (129), June 2000
100
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

For the last 3 or 4 years, the 1982 Latour has begun to look like a clone of the magnificently opulent 1961. The 1982 continues to surge in quality, moving from strength to strength. If I were going to pull the cork for pure pleasure on any of the Big 8 (5 first growths plus Ausone,Cheval Blanc, and Petrus), it would be on this wine. Still an infant in terms of development, the wine displays extraordinary richness, ripeness, and the beginning of that compelling Latour perfume of cassis, cedar, walnuts, and minerals. Extremely full bodied, concentrated, and thick, this viscous, chewy, large-scaled wine is also amazingly soft. Huge levls of tannin are concealed beyond the layers of fruit. More and more, I am convinced that thisis another unqualified legend of the vintage. If readers only have 1 or 2 bottles stashed away, I suggest waiting until 2002-2003 before doing the deed. Save the other until2020. This could be a 50-60 year wine

100
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (102), December 1995

You can say whatever you like about the quality of the First Growth 1982s, but if there is one common theme that comes up again and again is that if you are lucky enough to compare them side-by-side, there is one that reigns over them all. Chateau Latour. Here it retains that amazing bouquet that stops you in your tracks: black fruit, graphite, crushed stone and a touch of smoke, all with breathtaking precision. The palate is medium-bodied with a symmetry and focus that leaves the others behind (Lafite coming the closest here.) There is a confidence to this wine, not so much a swagger but an effortless quality that leaves no questions unanswered.

100
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, January 2013
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.