Chateau Latour 2018 tasting notes on futures and ratings “en primeur” by Ronald Rens, M.Sc., Wine Master, Bordeaux Expert
Ronald tasting Latour with Hélène Génin, the technical director
I tasted the Latour at the chateau with Hélène Génin, the technical director of the First Growth. Hélène explained that she had to fight the mildew as well. The vintage started out as a late vintage but the growing cycle caught up with the year and it turned out to be an early harvest at Latour. Small berries with thick skins and a perfect ripeness. Latour doesn’t use the optical sorting machine because Hélène doesn’t believe in this technology. All selection was done by hand. The yield at Latour at 24hl/ha was lower than usual (33-35 hl/ha) as a result of the mildew in the early part of the year and the drought later on.
Latour isn’t released on futures anymore. The chateau keeps the wines in bottle in their cellar and releases the wines when they feel that they are entering their drinking window. This year they will release the Pauillac 2014, the Les Forts 2013 and the Latour 2008.
Les Forts de Latour 2018
Pauillac de Latour 2018 (16 points)
[56,9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30,8% Merlot and 12,3% Petit Verdot]
A fairly light color, especially compared to the wines I tasted elsewhere. Some nice purple tinges. Rather shy on the nose with some pleasant black fruit. On the palate the sample was somewhat dominated by the tannins that were a bit dry in the end. Pleasant expression of the fruit. Not very long.
Les Forts de Latour 2018 (18 points)
[65,6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 0,4% Petit Verdot]
Way more color than the Pauillac and much denser. Rather discreet nose that took some time opening to show pleasant blackcurrant aromas. I loved the expression of the (black) fruit and the good structure. Strong tannins and a good length
Chateau Latour 2018
Chateau Latour 2018 (19,5 points)
[91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot]
As was to be expected, the deepest color of all three wines, with hints of ruby and some purple in the rim. Rather shy but stylish nose with some (black)fruit and vanilla tones. What a power! Superb fruit. Powerful and refined tannins are the hallmark of yet another great Latour. The fruit seems to overpower the tannins somewhat in this stage but the barrel aging will fill those tannins in to bring the fruit and the tannins in a perfect balance. No worries here because Latour manages this skill to perfection. Again a great Latour for the long term. Well done Hélène Génin and her team!
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