Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac, 2005
Two bits of good news for lovers of this pre-eminent second label: first, the wine is very good indeed, though closed for the moment; it exhibits signs of dark fruit with coal dust minerality and spice, grippy tannins and a big structure, weighty but at the same time fresh and vibrant. Secondly, there will be slightly more of it in 2005 because of vineyard purchases made in 2005.
critic reviews
Crushed blackberries, wild strawberries, white truffles and leather, this is fully open and at a great moment to drink, just heading towards tertiary character. Easily one of the most consistently impressive 2nd wines in Bordeaux, Forts de Latour was launched under Henri Martin and Jean-Paul Gardère in 1966, and at one point in its history there was even a discussion about it becoming part of a revised 1855 classification. What's for sure is that this is a great vintage to discover it if you haven't so far. 100% new oak for ageing.
Open-knit yet deep and powerful, the 2005 Les Forts de Latour is striking today. The pedigree of the vintage comes through in spades. Expressive, perfumed aromatics meld into a core of supple, open-knit fruit in a mid-weight, impeccably balanced Forts de Latour. Hints of red fruit, iron, smoke and tobacco add lovely shades of nuance. Latour's President Frédéric Engerer adds that that 2005 was the easiest and most balanced growing season (including 2009 and 2010) he has seen because his team had the total flexibility of choosing when to harvest.
The 2005 Les Forts de Latour is another beautiful wine from this estate. Medium to full-bodied, with a dense ruby/purple color, loads of blackcurrant fruit, earth, and spice, the wine is extremely pure, broad, savory, and quite expensive. This is a fabulous second wine, but in essence, this is really of classified growth quality. Drink it over the next 20+ years.
product details
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