95-100 / 100
Noncontractual photograph
Vintage | 1990 |
Rating | 95-100 |
Classification | Médoc - 1er Cru Classé |
Region | Bordeaux |
Appellation | Pauillac |
Colour | Red |
Volume | 0.75 l |
Price | More than 300 € |
100/100 | Yes |
Château | Latour |
Country | France |
There are 2 other Châteaux in the Pauillac appellation which also benefit from the prestigious title of 1er Cru Classé: Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild.
Latour is the epitome of excellence in good years and bad ones. Among the greatest vintages, the most beautiful achievements of the chateau: 1920, 1929, 1949, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1970, 1982, 1990, 2000.
Created around 1680, Château Latour's vineyard is one of the oldest in the Médoc. At the heart of the estate, the main parcel, called "l'Enclos", is made up of 47 hectares of old vines that are preciously maintained, because only they are able to give birth to the "Grand Vin". The 18 hectares of exterior plots, the vines less than 10 years old and the possibly downgraded cuvées produce the second wine of the estate, "Les Forts de Latour". The wine of Château Latour is an example of regularity regardless of the quality of the vintage. Firm, tannic and concentrated in its youth ...
Read more on the article "Latour, Premier Cru Classé in 1855"
Sainte Croix du Mont
Saint Emilion
Clos de Vougeot
Pomerol
Saint Estèphe
JOLY N. Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 1990
Savennières
DOMAINE DE LA SOUCHERIE Vieilles Vignes 1990
Coteaux du Layon
Saint Estèphe
DOMAINE DE LA ROMANEE CONTI 1990
Romanée Saint Vivant
ARMAND ROUSSEAU Gevrey Chambertin 1990
Gevrey Chambertin
Excellent, deep crimson. Just fabulous nose of fully ripe grapes, yet with soft acidity. Soft, gentle start and then firms up on the palate. Pretty magnificent. Tannins underneath suggest this one will run and run.
Find this wine.
The color is darK and a bit dull. Intense nose which is a bit reduced, with some liquorice. Moving the wine around in the glass improves the nose. Gentle entry into the mouth, then the wine develops a juicy, aromatic, tasty and sleek flavor. It presents a beautiful cedar taste and gives a sense of just proportion. The finish is long, but the firmness of the tannins lowers my rating. My last tasting in 2005, after a bottle of wine from this same case, pointed to a 18.
This is one of the more perplexing Latours to evaluate. It has plenty of sweetness as well as a gorgeous, rich fruitiness, but it lacks the firmness one finds in more recent great vintages such as 1996, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008. There is plenty of sweet, ripe currant fruitiness, abundant glycerin, and full body, but I’m still waiting for that extra nuance of complexity to emerge. It’s all there, but the wine still seems to be more monolithic than one would expect in a wine approaching 19 years of age. It is not the sure-fire winner I thought it was in its youth, but then again, I don’t have any reason to doubt that more complexity will emerge.
This is one of my favorite wines ever. Full-bodied, with layers of silky fruit and masses of currant, mineral and berry character. Amazing. It's a wine with perfect structure, perfect strength. It's 1961 Latour in modern clothes. It's hard not to drink it now.