Château Latour, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac [SHC, BS], 1961

Of the three wines tasted in this lineup, Latour remains the youngest and most identifiably Pauillac in character, despite being in a half bottle. Gorgeous deep plum colour, subdued on the first nose as the fruits remain concentrated and intense, if you can believe it, and need a good few moments to begin to uncurl. Expect curls of cocoa bean, black truffle and grilled earth, with turmeric spice and cigar box, reflecting the tiny yield and concentration that was clear from the first years of its life. Not as joyful perhaps as the Mouton, but seriously impressive, just an absolute lesson in how great Bordeaux can age and why we fall in love with it. 20th century Bordeaux legends Edmund Penning-Rowsell and Michael Broadbent both believed Latour 1961 to be the wine of the vintage (in 2000 Broadbent believed it still had half a century of life ahead of it, and he might just be right). A fascinating history also, as this was last year when Latour was entirely owned by descendants of the famous 18th century 'prince of vines' Nicolas-Alexandre de Segur before selling up to Lord Cowdray the following year. Am now obsessed with trying it out of bottle rather than half bottle to see if that extra point will be found...

DRINKING WINDOW 2024 - 2040

date of review 03/2024