Château Latour, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac,

The 1986 Latour is a vintage that has constantly left me disappointed in context of the growing season and the performance of its peers such as Mouton-Rothschild or Léoville Las Cases. This last bottle did nothing to change my opinion. It just feels enervated on the nose, as if it cannot be bothered to offer much more than dusty black fruit tinged with leather. The palate is foursquare, lighter than one would expect, the acidity nicely judged, but the fruit has always been lacking and there is no sense of density or ambition towards the finish. I sometimes wonder how this wine comes from the same vineyard that produced the 1982 or 1990! Tasted at a private dinner in London.