Latour - 2010

2010: An intense and beautifully bright colour. the nose is incredibly expressive, pure and aromatic. On the palate, the structure is extremely delicate, elegant with matured fruits flavours. Tannins are rich, noble and silky.

Wine Advocate 100: The 2010 Latour is deep garnet in color, and—WOW—it erupts from the glass with powerful crème de cassis, Black Forest cake and blackberry pie scents plus intense sparks of dried roses, cigar boxes, fragrant earth and smoked meats with aniseed and crushed rocks wafts. Full-bodied, concentrated and oh-so-decadent in the mouth, it has a firm, grainy texture and lovely freshness carrying the rich, opulent fruit to an epically long finish.

James Suckling 100: The aromas of flowers such as roses, violets and lilacs jump from the glass then turn to dark berries such as blueberries and blackberries. It's full-bodied, with velvety tannins and dense and intense with a chocolate, berry and currant character. This is juicy and rich with wood still showing a bit, but it's all coming together wonderfully. Muscular yet toned.

Vinous 100: The 2010 Latour can be summed up in two words: “The king.” It convincingly asserts its superiority over other 2010s, including First Growths, in terms of its aromatic complexity, precision, balance, intensity, complexity and persistence. Simply a faultless Latour that ranks among its greatest achievements. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting."

Decanter 100: Just over a third of the harvest made it into the grand vin to give a wine of startling concentration and purity, with lovely, forward cassis fruit and a hint of spice on the attack. The texture is fresh but not overly tannic, and there is a surprisingly sweet, silky feel cloaking the powerful extract. Best to wait another decade before trying this, but it will last a half-century beyond that. Moderate temperatures followed a flowering disrupted slightly by cool weather and rain. The summer was dry and sunny, if somewhat cool. The Merlot was picked beginning on the 20th of September and the Cabernet 4th of October. The final blend is just over 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with most of the balance being Merlot.

Wine Enthusiast 99: Stern, almost severe initially, this great wine takes time to show its immense fruit power. Black currant and blackberry notes are packed into the wine, along with an impressive array of spices from new wood that gives a more exotic element. At the end, though, it has a fine, structured sense of proportion. Obviously for aging over decades, so don't drink before 2022.

Wine Advocate 93: Composed of 95.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.4% Merlot and 0.4% Petit Verdot, the 2013 Latour offers an open-knit, fragrant nose of licorice, sandalwood, rose petals and cigar box over a core of Black Forest cake, stewed plums, mulberries and redcurrant jelly, plus a waft of cast-iron pan. The elegantly styled, medium-bodied palate (13% alcohol) fills the mouth with intense red and black berry preserves layers, framed by evolved, soft-textured tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and spicy. This vintage does not have the power and backbone of an outstanding vintage of Latour, but it is aging gracefully and, still possessing a lot of discernible fruit with plenty of tertiary pizazz, is absolutely delicious to drink right now. This sweet-spot stage is likely to continue for another 5-7 years, before the wine plateaus at a maturity peak and holds for a further 15+ years.

James Suckling 95: Very enticing sweet tobacco, cedar, tar and blackcurrant on the nose with hints of black mushrooms and violets. It’s full-bodied with layers of ripe tannins that are still slightly chewy, but show poise and focus. Juicy finish with a berry, iodine and walnut aftertaste. Just a touch of austerity at the end. Savory. Clearly one of the top wines of this very difficult vintage, along with Margaux and Lafleur. Drinkable now, but better in 2024.

Decanter 94: Very deep in colour, this is muted on the nose, though with black fruits lurking in the background. A compact wine with firm tannins, this also has a welcome juiciness to balance the solid structure. It shows Latour grip and typicity, though on a more modest scale than usual.

Wine Advocate 96: A rich and demonstrative vintage for this estate, the 2015 Latour unfurls in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cassis, loamy soil, espresso roast, pencil shavings and a subtle hint of potpourri. Medium to full-bodied, supple and elegant, with a velvety attack that segues into a sweet, layered mid-palate, it's enveloping and complete, concluding with a sapid finish. The tauter, more classical 2014 is likely to prove longer lived, whereas the giving 2015 is a Latour that it wouldn't be a crime to drink young.

James Suckling 98: Aromas of iron, oyster shell, rust and stones with blueberries and blackberries. Full-bodied, yet ever so polished and refined. It rolls off the palate with fruit and salty flavors. Tight, focused and always refined. Pretty length. 97% cabernet sauvignon gives this brightness.

Vinous 96: The 2015 Latour was bottled in July 2017 and contains 13.04% alcohol. It is blessed with a refined and focused bouquet: perfumed blackberry and raspberry scents, iodine, pine and light pencil shaving aromas. It has dispensed with the subtle fig-like/exotic notes noticeable three years ago, arguably a little more conservative today. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine-grain tannins; harmonious and poised, clean and precise, understated with an irresistible silky texture.

Decanter 98: Really gorgeous aromatics, so perfumed, acutely aromatic, pristine, clear and precise with tobacco, cocoa, ash and liquorice. Round, heady, a sexy wine, with a lot to say, generous and open, smooth and layered - this deepens straight away vertically. I love the juiciness, there’s clarity to the raspberry, blueberry and blackcurrant fruit, sleek and joyful but the texture is there with a wet stone and liquorice to the tannins that gives such grip and edge of power. Still youthful and quite serious but there’s something so appealing about it with a sexy character and complexity. Bright and sharp but also with sweetness from the ripe vintage and savoury notes of truffle, cocoa, dark chocolate giving contrast. Such enjoyable floral violet scents too that follow the wine from start to finish. Excellently controlled and delivered with supreme appeal. One you want to sit with and take your time over, and then gulp down! 69 IPT, 30% of production. Harvest 15 september to 10 October. Technical director Hélène Genin.

Wine Advocate 98: The 2017 Latour is a blend of 92.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.8% Merlot and 0.1% Petit Verdot with 13.3% alcohol and an IPT of 66. Deep garnet-purple in color, it starts off a little broody before exploding from the glass with powerful scents of ripe blackcurrants, blackberry pie and preserved black cherries plus touches of cedar chest, fenugreek, cumin seed and charcoal with emerging wafts of violets, dark chocolate, star anise and fertile loam. Medium-bodied, this may be one of the most elegant, great Latours ever, revealing layer upon layer of fresh, crunchy black fruits with a vast array of exotic spice and floral nuances, framed by super ripe, super fine-grained tannins, finishing very long with mineral sparks coming through.

James Suckling 99: Ripe and very powerful aromas of black licorice, currants and violets. Full-bodied, dense and flavorful with lots of very new, flashy wood. Sexy and gorgeous. Round and polished tannins. Superb wine for the vintage.

Vinous 96: The 2017 Latour is just starting to open aromatically. Medium in body, with tannins that have begun to soften, the 2017 is super-expressive and inviting today. It’s a charming, relatively accessible young Latour that is all about finesse and understatement. Bright saline notes and lifted floral top notes convey class.

Decanter 94: Smells gorgeous - highly scented with lots of floral notes and ripe blackcurrants - the aromatics burst out of the glass. Succulent and juicy, lively and bright straight away, this is gorgeous - it's direct and focussed, certainly lean but not austere with a wonderfully silky texture and well defined tannins that give energy and frame the wine from start to finish. This really packs a punch, the concentrated flavour while not heavy or plush lingers a long long time and is so enjoyable. Cool blue fruits, pencil led salinity, cola edges and bright acidity - clean, pure and precise. And so drinkable. It's not exuberant, chewy or dense, it's light footed, still with a mineral salty grip but carefully controlled and calm yet generous in all the right places. This will age no doubt, but there's lots of zestiness giving a sense of freshness and approachability that is so delightful. A wine that knocks it out of the park and one so representative of Bordeaux and the Pauillac terroir.