Château Latour: Tasting & Drinking
For many, Château Latour is the epitome of wine. Many would regard it as the leading first growth of Bordeaux, and in the eternal quest to find ‘the wine of the vintage’ it is frequently Château Latour that comes out on top. The wine also has, as is fitting for a first growth, a phenomenal propensity for ageing well, with many tasters remarking that the 1899, 1900, 1928 or perhaps the 1945 (or in fact any number of other vintages) come high in their list of candidates for favourite Château Latour vintage. I am not so lucky to have tasted such exalted wines. Well, actually, I must retract that statement – I was fortunate enough to taste the 1945 Château Latour in 2025, as described in my Bordeaux Fives 1845 – 2015 report . Yes, it was amazing wine. Looking beyond that, though, tasting opportunities of mature vintages come along infrequently.
Even so, looking at the wines of Château Latour that I have tasted, in youth, semi-maturity and maturity, the extremely high quality shines through, both in great vintages such as 2009 and 2010, when the experience is nothing less than tear-jerking (especially the when it comes with such a paradoxical combination of sinew and perfume, as it did in the 2009 vintage, or the sheer power of 2010), as well as in lesser vintages when the terroir and talent here means the wine remains one of the very best in all Bordeaux.
Looking to more recent vintages, there are no real disappointments here in recent years. Even the 2013 is a good wine, and you won’t find me writing those words on many other Winedoctor profiles. It is eclipsed by the likes of 2014 and 2012 though, although 2015 is even better, and the 2016 is a tour de force, a modern-day classic which your grandchildren will enjoy. Frost does not bother L’Enclos too much, which partly explains why the 2017 is so good, but there is also greatness in the bottle in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. The 2021 and even the 2024 are good results. Perhaps it goes without saying, but more recent opinions are formed purely in barrel samples, as I do not taste the wines again until they reach their late-release moment.
Looking to older vintages, there are good wines in years such as 2005, 2006, 2008 and even 2003, but none to challenge the results in 1990 or 1961, with notes on both presented below, alongside many less exalted vintages.
In all honesty it is difficult to write any more words on these wines, as eventually I run short of words of praise, of the appropriate exclamations. They are some of the greatest wines I have ever tasted, and this is perhaps reflected not only in the lengthy tasting notes below, and the generous scores of course, but also in the detail and depth to which I have covered the history and evolution of this estate. Perhaps this, rather than any exhaustive words of praise, is the best indication of my feelings about this estate and its wines. (10/3/04, updated 17/1/07, 29/5/09, 15/5/14, 16/10/16, 9/1/26)
