Château Latour, 2013 Releases
It is approximately 18 months since I first published the news that Château Latour planned to withdraw from en primeur sales. Frédéric Engerer, the straight-talking president of Latour, had been scaling back primeur releases for years in order to build up reserve stocks, although nobody but he, and no doubt a few of the Latour inner-circle, knew what he had planned.
As a result of his building up stocks and the associated reduction in sales, by early 2012 Château Latour was distributed through a relatively small and select group of négociants. These négociants were all surprised to be informed, by letter, that their allocations of Latour would come to an end with the 2011 vintage. Finally, Frédéric’s plan was revealed for all to see. Starting with the 2012 vintage, the wines of Château Latour would be held back, and only released as they entered their drinking window. Exactly what this means depends on the cuvée in question, as the new rule applies to all three of Latour’s wines, not only the grand vin but also the second wine, Les Forts de Latour, and the third wine, Pauillac de Château Latour.
More than Notes and Numbers
During the Bordeaux 2012 primeurs I know of some visitors to the region who decided to omit Château Latour from their tasting schedule, seemingly having decided that tasting it without an imminent release was no longer relevant. This point of view reflects a belief that a tasting report on a new vintage, whether we are talking Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne or otherwise, is nothing more than notes and numbers. I view it as much more than that; yes the notes and scores are vital, they guide my own buying as well that of at least some of my readers (thank you for the feedback), but a primeurs-trip to Bordeaux during which I taste several hundred wines engenders a rich and deep understanding of the vintage, one that I will carry forward through the rest of my writing career. To miss out on a tasting of Château Latour within the context of the vintage, on the same day as Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild, as well as the other crus of Pauillac and the other first growths, seems like deliberately throwing away a piece of the jigsaw before you even start it. How can you comment on the successes at Lafite and Mouton if you have not tasted Latour (and vice versa, naturally)? How can you understand the vintage, from its high-points to its lows, if you have not tasted the top wines?
