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 Latour.
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