Chateau Latour - Pauillac 1er Grand Cru classe 2013

Wine Region: Bordeaux - France

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon (92%), Merlot (8%)

Tasting notes:  Powerful, tannic, bold, firm and structured, this is perhaps the quintessential example of the fist inside the iron glove. This is incredibly powerful, focused and precise. It's also quite structured, dense and tannic.

Expert ratings:

James Suckling 93 / 100

" This is really racy with ultra fine tannins. Pretty mint, currants, blackberries and fresh. Full body, with firm tannins and a long and intense finish. Finesse and textured. Tannic backbone."

Vinous 93 / 100

"Dark red cherries, plums, smoke and new leather flesh out in the 2013 Latour. This is a relatively easygoing Latour with good overall depth and fine balance if not the thrill of the very best years, something that would have been impossible. At the same time though, the Latour is one of the bigger wines of the vintage. Violets, rose petals and dark spices flesh out on the resonant finish. There is plenty to look forward to here. The blend is 95.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.3% Merlot and 0.4% Petit Verdot. "

Wine Spectator 93 / 100

"Tight and primal, with a taut plum pit and iron frame around a core of red currant, cherry and raspberry fruit. Flecks of white pepper line the finish, which features a long iron spine that shows impressive cut. Comes up short on flesh, but the precision is there, offering echoes of pomegranate, blood orange and bitter cherry allied to the minerality. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Tasted non-blind."

About the winery:

The history of Ch. Latour dates back at least to the 14th century, even though the vineyards for which it is now world-renowned were not fully established until the 17th century.  

The estate is located at the southern edge of Pauillac, bordering the St. Julien vineyards of Ch. Léoville Las Cases, and covers 78 hectares. After a period when it was under English ownership, in the form of the Pearson Group, owners of the Financial Times, and Harvey’s of Bristol, the property passed to Allied Lyons in 1989 and was then bought in 1993 by the French billionaire industrialist François Pinault, whose empire was to grow to include Yves St. Laurent, Gucci and Christie’s Auction House.

Pinault has delegated day-to-day control of the estate and its wines to his dynamic Président, Frédéric Engerer, under whose stewardship a major programme of investment has taken place which has seen Latour rise to an undisputed pre-eminent position in the Bordeaux wine hierarchy.

Engerer produces 3 wines: the Grand Vin, which always comes from the vines immediately surrounding the château, known as L’Enclos; Les Forts de Latour, the second wine, created in 1966, and now regarded as a great wine in its own right, certainly worthy of Classified Growth status; and finally a third wine, simply called Pauillac de Latour, usually the product of young vines. The second wine, Les Forts de Latour, always comes from a distinct location, rather than simply being the vats rejected as not quite worthy of inclusion in Latour itself, so it has its own distinct identity.

In terms of volumes, on average there are about 16-20,000 cases of Latour made each year, 10-12,000 cases of Les Forts de Latour, and a variable quantity of the generic Pauillac. As one would expect in Pauillac the Cabernet Sauvignon dominates, accounting for 80% of the vineyard, with Merlot (18%) and Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot comprising the remaining 2%.

Vinification is rigorously controlled, with severe selection of only the healthiest fruit, total de-stemming, and separate tanks for each parcel of vines. A three-week long maceration is followed by malolactic fermentation in vats before the wine chosen to become Ch. Latour is run off into barrels, 100% new, for ageing. The wine destined to become Les Forts de Latour is aged in 50% new oak and 50% one-year-old barrels.

In style the wine is powerful, structured and compelling, and has been for many the most consistent performer amongst the First Growth Wines over the past century, acquiring an enviable reputation for producing very good wine in the more challenging vintages. It has great potential to age, with the best vintages lasting a century or more.