Château Latour, 2025 Releases
The arrival of spring is signalled in many different ways. The early eruption of snowdrops in my garden, for one. Although, thinking about it, the date on which these snowdrops emerge is closer to the beginning of winter than it is to the beginning of spring, as they have already been in bloom for a week or two. And it is not unknown for them to push forth through a dusting of snow here in Scotland, and there is not much about a crisp, glacial-white wonderland, with or without snowdrops, which says spring to me.
There was nothing very spring-like about my recent visit to Château Latour either. Sliding from the driver’s seat of my luxury saloon (well, Fiat 500 rental) I was greeted by the cool and bracing crispness of a winter morning, accentuated by the stiff breeze that occasionally blew in off the Gironde. Later that same day, however, the temperature would rise to a heady 12ºC, which for Scotland would count as summer – once the temperature hits double figures it is not unknown for Scottish chaps to venture into their gardens shirtless, and pull the barbecue from the shed. They know only too well to take what summer they can get; after all, winter might have returned by lunchtime.
Diligently locking my rental car I began the march uphill from the car park to the cellars, wrapping myself up against the icy chill. I imagine more eminent critics have their drivers drop them off at the door, but I gave up such dreams long ago. And the reason for my visit? I was here to taste the 2022 vintage now it has been bottled, but with Latour’s late-release system now firmly bedded in – it has been the norm for over a decade now – it is clear we won’t see this vintage released for a good few years yet. So I asked if I could taste the wines selected for release in 2025 as well.
The answer? Oui! So here goes with the three planned releases for this year, tasted in the company of Château Latour’s technical director, the sapient Hélène Génin.
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