critic reviews
The 2016 Latour has everything on the nose: blackberry, graphite, crushed stone, subtle estuarine scents—it’s all here, and exquisitely defined, too. This corresponds exactly to previous bottles tasted at the property. The palate is medium-bodied with life-affirming graphite-tinged black fruit delivered with a sense of symmetry, mineral-driven with a captivating, precise finish. Utterly sublime. Tasted at the 10-Year-On tasting at Bordeaux Index.
Impressively precise and muscular, no question that this needs longer in the bottle before really being ready to drink, but everything is in place for decades of pleasure. Smart timing of this release, a vintage that underlines without question just why Latour is so revered, and why there is a clear logic to holding it back at the estate for almost a decade, allowing the first part of its ageing cycle to take place under fully controlled conditions. Very much a classic Pauillac, with confidence and character, waves of mint leaf, coffee bean, cola, crushed rocks, crayon and liqourice root, opening up to show fragrant nuances of rose petals and peony. 100% new oak for ageing. Hélène Genin technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant, and at this point Latour was farming entirely organically and biodynamically, with organic certification coming in 2018.
Chateau Latours 2016 grand vin is a knockoutperfectly encapsulating the estates paradoxical signature of at once possessing jaw-dropping power with hauntingly gorgeous fragrance and finesse: Bordeauxs iron fist in a velvet glove. Very deep purple-black in color, the nose of the 2016 Latour is quite closed to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, red roses and violets with Indian spices, blueberry compote, blackcurrant cordial and cigar box plus wafts of pencil lead and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the mid-palate explodes with densely packed black fruits and tons of earth, mineral and spice accents, with a super ripe, fine-grained frame and seamless freshness, finishing very long and seductively perfumed.