Chateau Latour - Les Forts de Latour 2019

JAMES SUCKLING: "Exquisite aromas of lavender, cigar ash and Spanish cedar with dried citrus follow through to a medium body and a solid palate with powerful, ultrafine and linear tannins. The muscle and long finish are so beautiful. Give it two or three years but already a solid wine. Drink after 2028."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Composed of 65.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.9% Merlot, and 2.3% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with classic scents of cedar, cassis, and plum preserves, followed by suggestions of bay leaves, lavender, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is tight-knit, bright, and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins and a mineral-laced finish."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Cedar, tobacco leaf, cigar box, black currants, mint leaf, and blackberries come through on the nose. On the palate, the wine is elegant, fresh, lifted, and packed with sweet deep red fruits, spice, oregano, and leafy notes. The finish offers richness, length, and vibrancy. The wine is a blend of 65.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.9% Merlot and 2.3% Petit Verdot. 14.3% ABV. Drink from 2027-2044."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2019 Les Forts de Latour appears to have tightened up a little since I last tasted it a few years ago. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet cassis fruit mingled with hints of cedar, iris, orange zest and new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, lively and nicely concentrated, with a ripe core of fruit underpinned by chalky structuring tannins. While it's approachable after a decant, it certainly merits additional patience. As readers will remember, this bottling mostly derives from dedicated parcels located further inland from Latour's famous "Enclos," next to Château Haut-Batailley."

DECANTER: "A captivating nose of milk chocolate, cola, cherries, and violets, offering a soft and inviting bouquet. The palate is fully textured, opening gradually to coat the cheeks and tongue in a fine layer of chalky tannins. Juicy and succulent through the mid-palate, it bursts with citrus zest, orange and lemon pith, cranberries, and red cherries. There’s a beautiful interplay of bite and tension, with a sapdi freshness and a mineral core of crushed stones and iron. The finish ends bright, minty, and herbal, delivering great drive and persistence. 3.60pH."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Ockerandaufhellung. Zart blättrige Würze, Brombeeren, dezentes Cassis, ein Hauch von Orangenzesten, etwas Grafit, facettenreiches Bukett. Saftig, rote Kirschen, dezente Extraktsüße, lebendige Struktur, würzig im Abgang, ein animierender Speisenbegleiter, den man einige Stunden dekantieren sollte."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2019 Les Forts De Latour is more open, expressive, and complex, with a medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific aromatics of ripe currants, leather, graphite, and cedary spice. I love its overall purity, and it has fabulous balance and outstanding length. Coming from slightly less ideal parcels (those farther from the Gironde estuary), it doesn't have the density of the 2020 or 2022 but shines for its overall equilibrium and elegance, while still bringing some solid Pauillac power."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Serious, savoury nose. Intense but cool, with classic Pauillac minerality. But not the most concentrated."