Latour

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Our Latour wines					Parker Score hover or click for more
Wine	Vintage	Case size	Price/case	Cases	Parker Score hover or click for more
Forts de Latour	2008	12×75cl	£1,700	2	91-93
The second wine seems to have picked up most of the Merlot from the Latour vineyards (31.5% Merlot and 66.5% Cabernet Sauvignon dominate the blend). The 2008 Les Forts de Latour is a forward, pure wine displaying remarkably sweet tannins along with aromas of black currants, forest floor, and a hint of underbrush. Opulent, round, and generous, it should drink well for 15-20 years, possibly longer given the fact that the 1982 Les Forts de Latour is still a beautiful wine, and it’s “only”� 27 years of age!
Latour	1992	12×75cl	£3,700	1	88
Only 50% of the 1992 harvest went into the "grand vin." The result is a sweet, expansive, rich, medium-bodied, surprisingly supple Latour with the tell-tale English walnut, blackcurrant, and mineral-scented nose, very good to excellent flavor concentration, low acidity and moderate tannin in the finish. This is an extremely well-made, approachable style of Latour that should age well for 10-15 years. It may develop even further, thus justifying an even higher score.
Latour	2000	12×75cl	£9,500	1	98
The 2000 Latour (a relatively abundant 14,000 cases compared to what they produced in 2009, 2008, or 2005) is “packed and stacked.” The extremely rich, black/purple color to the rim is followed by a wine with some subtle smoke, loads of minerals, a hint of vanilla, and plenty of creme de cassis as well as roasted meat and a slight scorched earth character. Broad, savory, and rich, the wine seems to be about 5 years away from full maturity and should drink well for at least 40-50 more years. A great effort, probably eclipsed only by 2003 and 2009. My original ratings appear to have been dead on the money for both of these efforts from Chateau Latour.
Latour	2003	12×75cl	£7,900	1	100
There are only 10,800 cases (rather than the normal 15,000-20,000) of the 2003 Latour, a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot (13.3% finished alcohol). A prodigious effort, it boasts a saturated purple color as well as a gorgeous perfume of smoke, cedar, creme de cassis, flowers, crushed rocks, and blackberries. Massive and multi-layered, with huge richness and low acidity, it is about as unctuous as a young Latour can be. It could be compared to the 1982, but it may be even more pure, at least at this early stage, than that monumental wine. The level of intensity builds prodigiously in the mouth, and the finish lasts nearly a minute. Disarmingly accessible (although analytically the tannin level is high), I suspect it will ultimately shut down, but it was performing impeccably when I tasted it. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040+. What can one say about proprietor Francois Pinault and his manager, Frederic Engerer? A strong argument can be made that in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, Latour produced the wine of the vintage, although it has plenty of competition in the Northern Medoc in 2003. Moreover, the bargains are the estate’s least expensive cuvee, Pauillac, followed by Les Forts de Latour, Latour’s second wine which continues to increase in quality.
Latour	2005	12×75cl	£7,500	1	96
Only 44% of the production made it into the dense ruby/purple-hued 2005 Latour, a powerful, backward, 12,000-case blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Petit Verdot and Merlot. As I wrote last year, this classic effort is built for the ages, and is largely destined to be drunk by our offspring rather than anyone over the age of 50 today. Complex aromas of crushed rocks, graphite, black cherries, creme de cassis, new saddle leather, and dried mushrooms are still tightly wound. The wine is full-bodied and powerful with exceptionally high tannin combined with zesty acidity, and laser-like focus. It will require 15 or more years of cellaring. I still prefer the 2003, but administrator Frederic Engerer says this “is more Latour.” Anticipated maturity: 2020-2060. Latour is always the most difficult Medoc first-growth to find, largely because the vineyard and production are much smaller than its’ peers and because of the severe selection routinely done by owner Francois Pinault and administrator Frederic Engerer.
Latour	2006	6×75cl	£2,400	1	95
The 2006 Latour performed even better from bottle than from barrel. Only 38% of the production (10,000 cases) made it into the grand vin, a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot and a small amount of Cabernet Franc. From barrel, I thought it was a modern day version of the 1996 or 1986, and certainly the 1996 comparison still holds. I thought it was somewhat austere from barrel, but that is no longer an issue. This is a beautifully rich Chateau Latour boasting a dense ruby/purple color, a sweet, smoky, charcoal, cassis, graphite, and forest floor-scented nose, full body, an attractive freshness, and sweet, noble tannins. This layered Latour is one of the vintage’s top dozen or so wines. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2030. 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.
Latour	2007	12×75cl	£4,000	2	92
The 2007 Latour (the first wine made in the newly renovated cellars) exhibits a dense ruby/purple color as well as a sweet, expansive bouquet of black fruits and spring flowers interwoven with a striking minerality. The wine’s dense, medium to full-bodied flavors are surprisingly evolved, with soft tannins, an ample, generous mouthfeel, and an endearing texture. Undoubtedly one of the longest lived wines of the vintage, the 2007 Latour should last for two decades or more.
LatourEP	2010	12×75cl	£10,500	1	98-100
It’s too early to know for sure, but the 2010 Latour appears to be a huge and massive Pauillac fruit bomb from this property. With 14.4% natural alcohol, this blend of 90.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot and .5% Cabernet Franc, director Frederic Engerer told me it is unlike any other wine made at this estate. Possessing abundant amounts of everything, it even eclipses the 2009 in terms of power with a lower pH and higher total acidity. Representing only 36% of the production (making it even more difficult to find than usual, as this is the smallest of the Medoc first growths), it possesses an opaque black/purple color along with an extraordinary perfume of spring flowers, blueberry, blackberry and cassis liqueurs and hints of white chocolate as well as earth intermixed with vague charcoal and truffle-like components. With unreal concentration, full-bodied power, and a precision, freshness and refined level of tannins that are something to behold, this remarkable offering is one of my personal favorites of the vintage. It will undoubtedly shut down after bottling and enjoy 50-60 years of longevity.
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Château Latour

Vineyards are documented at Chateau Latour as far back as the 14^th century (the estate disposes of more farther-dating archives than any other chateau), with those vineyards that were to underpin its now worldwide reputation established by the 17^th century, following the consolidation under single ownership (the de Mullet family) of a number of smaller holdings. Soon after, in the 18^th century, Latour was among the first New French Clarets to appear in the emergent London Coffee House scene.

Located at the southern edge of Pauillac on the border with St. Julien, the vineyards almost abut those of leading super second Ch. Léoville Las Cases.

Like all First Growths, Latour has undergone a series of ownerships and, equally like all First Growths, has largely stayed in French hands. After a period with the Pearson Group, an English family company it was sold to Allied Lyons. In 1993 Chateau Latour was bought by its present owner François Pinault, a French billionaire industrialist who was to build his holdings to include Yves St. Laurent, Gucci, Christie’s Auction House and the recent purchase of leading Rhone estate, Chateau Grillet.

With a new owner came a major program of investment. However, as is so often the case with First Growths, it was perhaps the wider-management decisions that had most impacted on quality. Pinault decided to delegate day-to-day direction of the estate to its Président, Frédéric Engerer, a dynamic figure under whose stewardship Latour has raised to its position of pre-eminence in the Bordeaux Place.

Latour

Style

Latour is a powerful, structured wine, nuanced with the classic claret notes of cedarwood and Cohiba of Pauillac. Considered perhaps the most consistent of all First Growth wines, Latour is also known for its ability to produce good wines in the more challenging vintages. The Grand Vin is among the most long-lived wine of all Bordeaux chateaux, with the best vintages lasting up to 100 years or more. Les Forts de Latour, one of the best known second wines in the Medoc, is based on a separate vineyard from the Grand Enclos (that of Latour) and thus has its own distinct identity.

Top-rated vintages

Vintage	RP	JR	Market price £	£/Parker Points
2009	98-100	19	12700	128
2008	96-98		8050	83
2006	95	18	5250	55
2005	96	18+	9500	99
2004	95	15.5	4500	47
2003	100	18++	9950	100
2002	96	16.5	4800	50
2001	95	17.5	4650	49
2000	98	18.5	11888	121
1996	99	17	7895	80

Prices as of beginning of April 2011

Market

Latour is currently enjoying a period of sustained momentum as it and other First Growths and equivalent wines become better value, as they start to move towards the new price ceiling established by Lafite.

In 2010, Latour ranked 2^nd in the Liv-ex Power 100 ranking, up from 5^th spot last in 2009. The Liv-ex Power 100 is a list of the top performers over the previous year and their position starting the current year. The indice traces the movement of chateau and other wines using a sophisticated weighting system based on average prices, production, notional availability and Parker Points.

Release price evolution
Vintage	Ex-négociant €	London release price £
2009	7,200	10,500
2008	1,560	1,590
2007	2,880	2,495
2006	3,900	3,250
2005	4,920	4,500

Latour at a glance

Commune: Pauillac

Soils: Deep, gravel-rich plateau with important iron and marl deposits

Climate: Maritime

District: Medoc

Classification: 1er Cru Classe 1855

Owner: François Pinault

Wine-maker: Frédéric Engerer

Vineyard: 77 ha/190 acres (11 ha were acquired in 2005)

75% Cabernet Sauvignon vines, 24 % Merlot (increased from 15 per cent in the 1980s), very small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot

Vinfication and ageing (Grand Vin): vats by parcel, 3-week maceration, aged in new oak casks

Production avg: 30,000 cases

Wines: Latour (16-20,000); Les Forts de Latour (since 1966, 10-12,000 cases); Pauillac

Other properties: Chateau Grillet, Rhone Valley

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