The 2016 Latour showed in stunning fashion out of barrel. Bottled in July 2018, it has retained a very deep, almost opaque color. The utterly beguiling bouquet features blackberry, graphite, crushed rose petals and a touch of licorice, though this ebbs with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with such fine tannins that the power and backbone of this Latour are barely registered by the senses. There is bewitching symmetry here, and incredible length, plus a persistency on the finish that is enthralling. Is it a perfect Latour like the best bottles of the 1928, 1961, 1982, 2000 and 2010? I think it might be. The 13.5% alcohol is a whole percentage point less than the 2010, making it more approachable. Drink 2023-2060
I am dreaming as I smell this wine, perfectly ripe cabernet sauvignon with currants, tobacco and fresh mint. Orange blossoms too. This amazing nose is so complex. Medium- to full-bodied, this has has perfectly integrated tannins that you don't feel but know are there, elevating the wine to another level. It's very drinkable because of its stellar balance, yet the tannic tension gives it energy and seamless texture. A benchmark Latour that reminds me of the 1982 in many ways. Drink or hold.
The 2016 Latour is a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gives nothing away for the first few moments of swirling, then begins to offer suggestions of freshly crushed blackcurrants and blackberries, followed by suggestions of lilacs, charcoal, iron ore, and black truffles, plus wafts of fragrant soil and garrigue. The medium-bodied palate is like an atomic bomb waiting to go off, taut with tightly wound black fruits and mineral layers, supported by firm, super-ripe, grainy tannins, finishing on an epically persistent ferrous note.
Impressively precise and muscular, no question that this needs longer in the bottle before really being ready to drink, but everything is in place for decades of pleasure. Smart timing of this release, a vintage that underlines without question just why Latour is so revered, and why there is a clear logic to holding it back at the estate for almost a decade, allowing the first part of its ageing cycle to take place under fully controlled conditions. Very much a classic Pauillac, with confidence and character, waves of mint leaf, coffee bean, cola, crushed rocks, crayon and liqourice root, opening up to show fragrant nuances of rose petals and peony. 100% new oak for ageing. Hélène Genin technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant, and at this point Latour was farming entirely organically and biodynamically, with organic certification coming in 2018. Hold +3 years or carafe 5 hours
Tasted blind. Heady and sweet with very ripe black-fruit flavours on the nose. Very rich and sweet with massive appeal but maybe just one notch too ripe?? New style!
Drink 2027 – 2045
Many have called this the best vineyard in the world and the dynamic Director of Chateau Latour, Frédéric Engerer, is determined to make the greatest wine possible. He has the confidence of owner, François Pinault, to do all that it takes to achieve this aim. Production levels have been slashed in recent vintages with only the best parcels of vines now producing grapes for the Grand Vin. The brave policy here is to no longer sell the wines en primeur but to wait until they are mature before they are released. The 2016 Grand Vin will represent 36% of the total production, and is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot - the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot were not included. This vintage is also the first where the entire property is being run biodynamically. A deep, saturating purple colour, there is intense blueberry and casses on the nose, with great delineation of fruit which is layered by notes of cocoa, tar, all spice and liquorice. The palate is hugely intense, with mouthfilling fruit weight beautifully matched by thick, rich and velvety tannins. The refinement on the palate is second to none, with great power focused into pure black fruits, dark chocolate, clove, allspice and vanilla. The spiciness of new oak is already well integrated into the dense weight of fruit. Though ripe, there is a superb freshness that lingers for mintues on the finish. A contender for wine of the vintage.
All three releases from Château Latour are brilliant. Starting with the grand vin, the 2016 Château Latour is blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot that represents just 36% of the total production. This tour de force has stunning, classic Pauillac notes of crème de cassis, crushed violets, freshly sharpened lead pencils, and graphite. These give way to a full-bodied, massively concentrated effort that has the austerity, regalness, and stature that puts the hallmark of this incredible estate front and center. With medium to full body, beautiful elegance, and a seamless texture, it’s backward and closed on the palate and in need of a decade or more of cellaring. It should be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage. Drink 2027-2102.
Black fruits the nose has brooding richness the palate depth with black cherry and cassis backed by dark chocolate and liquorice. There is mid freshness balance the tannins integrated discreet but supporting. Depth of the fruit at the back the rich fruit gives way to freshness the finish is remarkably light and elegant. 2028-50
Regular readers will know that I don’t scatter 100 point scores like confetti, but this is worth every one of them and is the wine of the vintage. Violet, green herb and blueberry notes are framed by sensuous tannins, deftly integrated new oak and a finish that lasts for a minute or more. A stunning wine. 2030-45
On paper, the combination of this estate and this vintage should be a match made in heaven, and the 2016 Latour has already received resounding acclaim among the wine trade and commentariat. The result in the glass, however, didn't quite meet my lofty expectations, offering up aromas of cassis and blackberries mingled with cigar ash, pencil shavings and saddle leather, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered palate that's undeniably concentrated and muscular but also somewhat austerely structured, with firm tannins that assert themselves on the somewhat carnal finish. For sheer intensity of flavor, the 2016 is certainly impressive, but it appears to be missing the purity and precision that one might expect for a first growth in a great 21st-century vintage. Perhaps the wine's somewhat wild, rustic characteristics will integrate more seamlessly as more bottle bouquet develops, but my immediate reaction to tasting it was to purchase two more cases of the superb 2016 Forts de Latour. 96+?
Château Latour’s 2016 grand vin is a knockout—perfectly encapsulating the estate’s paradoxical signature of at once possessing jaw-dropping power with hauntingly gorgeous fragrance and finesse: Bordeaux’s iron fist in a velvet glove. Very deep purple-black in color, the nose of the 2016 Latour is quite closed to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, red roses and violets with Indian spices, blueberry compote, blackcurrant cordial and cigar box plus wafts of pencil lead and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the mid-palate explodes with densely packed black fruits and tons of earth, mineral and spice accents, with a super ripe, fine-grained frame and seamless freshness, finishing very long and seductively perfumed. Drink 2025 - 2070.
The 2016 Latour is a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot (no Cabernet Franc of Petit Verdot this year). The IPT is 83 and the alcohol a modest 13.5%. It represents 36% of the total production of the estate. Wow... this is some nose. It contains brilliant delineation and an unbridled sense of mineralité and terroir expression. It is not powerful per se, quite succinct and perhaps more detailed than the 2005 Latour that I tasted alongside. The palate is medium-bodied and incredibly precise. You are overcome with the sense of a wine running like clockwork, like a Swiss watch--think Piaget. It is bestowed with astonishing length and yet there is a sense of weightlessness and precision that beckons you back for another sip. It is simply one of the best examples of Château Latour that I have tasted from barrel over the 20 years that I have been tasting at this address. Drink 2028 - 2070.
A muscular Latour with a vibrant depth of fruit and power. Superb length and polish. Full-bodied, tight and closed. Fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. Steely and edgy. Strong, regal wine.
Very deep, dark colour. Strong minerals and balsam – also extremely ripe – and hugely Latour on the nose. Salty and rich but with amazingly round tannins . Spice and red pimento pepper. Sinews and muscles. Lovely whole. Massive tannin level but fine tuned. Much more finesse than traditional Latour.
Drink 2030-2055
