Château Latour, 1er Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2019
The Latour 2019 is initially quite introspective and requires a little patience, but this is clearly a very serious and complex wine. With aeration hints of liquorice and dark, ripe fruit emerge, intermingled with hints of sandalwood and graphite. Beautifully reserved yet promising so much. We were expecting a demonstrative, flamboyant wine, however, this is quite the opposite, it’s all about zen-like balance, controlled power, purity and poise; a wine of exceptional quality and potential with a fine cashmere texture and exquisitely detailed tannins. An outstanding Latour, which will no doubt go down in history as one of the finest examples from this legendary vintage. Produced from 92.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.5% Merlot.
critic reviews
Composed of 92.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.5% Merlot, the 2019 Latour is deep garnet-purple in color. It comes barreling out of the glass with powerful notes of blackcurrant jelly, blackberry pie, and plum preserves, followed by suggestions of pencil shavings, cast-iron pan, and charcoal. The medium to full-bodied palate is exquisitely constructed with a myriad of very fine layers, supported by ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful tension, finishing epically long and mineral-laced. It's still very tightly wound and will require at least 5 to 7 more years in cellar, then should age gracefully for a good 50-years+.
The 2019 Latour is a profound wine in the making, and it will surely emerge as one of the most long-lived wines of the vintage, as well as one of the greatest. Unwinding in the glass with scents of rich cassis fruit, English walnuts, cigar wrapper, black truffle, loamy soil and violets, its full-bodied, layered and muscular, with huge depth at the core, ripe tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, seemingly interminable finish. Checking in at 14.1% alcohol, this prodigious Latour will require two decades to hit its stride, but it will be more than worth the wait.
The 2019 Latour is elegance and class personified. The picture of modern-day Latour, the 2019 is virtually seamless in the glass, with all the elements beautifully woven together. Bright saline notes lend energy as well as tension throughout. The 2019 is not an explosive or huge wine, but it is immensely elegant and polished in the modern style of Latour, much of which, in my view, is the result of biodynamic farming and better balance in the vineyard. Specifically, the broad, imposing tannins that were once a Latour signature appear to be a thing of the past.
By turns powerful and extremely subtle, the 2019 vintage at Latour highlights the resculpting and evolution of this 1st Growth over the past decade. Nuanced aromatics of peony, gunsmoke and campfire. Things take their time in the glass, with waves of charcoal, slate and black truffle weaving through supple blackcurrant, raspberry and mulberry fruits. Sappy acidities let light through to the muscular, take-no-prisoners, tannins. Clever winemaking, expansive yet concentrated, with hidden power and depths that will need a good decade before opening up and yet already seductive. Delivers on it En Primeur promise. 36% of overall production. 100% new oak. Overall yield of just under 45hl/h, unusual as the average yield at Latour is closer to 35hl/h, largely due to old vines and the powerful clay that sits under the gravel here.