Wine Advisor
Chateau Latour 1959
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Description
Chateau Latour is among the First Growth properties classified in the Bordeaux 1855 Classification. The estate is situated in the southern portion of Pauillac, bordering St. Julien and the Gironde estuary. Latour is considered one of the longest-lasting First Growths, reflecting its high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. Chateau Latour has an almost unequaled track record for producing stunning wines that age and evolve for decades, if not generations.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Dark garnet with an amber edge, the 1959 Latour reveals a touch of volatile acidity in the nose, along with aromas of melted caramel, tobacco, and jammy red and black fruits. As the wine sat in the glass, notes of minerals, coffee, spice, and underbrush emerged. There is still copious tannin in the finish (I am not sure it will ever be fully resolved), but this sumptuous, complex, fragrant, super-rich Latour cuts a broad swath across the palate. Fully mature, it is best consumed over the next decade.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Poured blind from two marie jeannes that were the last remaining pair at the chateau, the first has a lifted nose with powerful lack fruits, smoke, winter fireside hearth, roasted chestnut and cigar box. Very complex, although it fades a little in the glass. The palate is full-bodied, tannic and overtly masculine with touches of tobacco and spice, though lacking the clarity and sensuality that this wine can exude. (92/100). The second marie jeanne was much more representative, an unbelievable bouquet exploding from the glass like there is not tomorrow: redcurrant, blueberries, cedar, pencil lead, black truffles and crushed stones, the tannins beautifully defined, the fruit billowing with aeration and developing a quasi-New World voluptuousness paradigmatic of the ’59 vintage. The palate is full-bodied, perfectly balanced with a sensuality not found in the estate until the ’03. It just seems to expand in the mouth and is supremely long on the finish. This is a fabulous Chateau Latour. Tasted December 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Among the 1959s, Latour and two of the three Pomerols, Latour a Pomerol and L'Eglise-Clinet, stole the show. The 1959 Latour from Imperial could have been a 1993 California Cabernet Sauvignon - it tasted that young, thick, and rich. Soft, with beautifully integrated tannin, it possessed an opaque purple color, huge body, and massive richness and intensity. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series VI - Flight A of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at “The Sampler” icon tasting in London. From a half-bottle – this is actually consistent with previous bottles I have tasted. It has a brilliantly defined bouquet with blackberry, cedar, a touch of bilberry and smoke. It is still so precocious after all these years. The palate is perhaps not quite as bright as others but still armed with potent mulberry tinged black fruit, cedar and sage. This is a very fine Pauillac but not the best bottle I have tasted of this legend. Tasted December 2012.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Intense purple/ruby hue. A plush velvety nose: cherries and redcurrants. Just spell-binding definition and intensity. A faultless palate, big, round soft fruits with silky tannins. Lots of glycerin. The most hedonistic Latour I have tasted: very complex and very persistent. More enjoyable than the Latour 1961 at present although it remains a superior wine. An irrepressible wine, one to cherish. Tasted January 2000.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Last Tasted 2/92 Neither of the two bottles I recently tasted were as good as previous examples I have had of this wine. One bottle, directly from the chateau's cellars, was so plagued by vinegary volatile acidity that it was undrinkable. One could appreciate its size and concentration, but the V.A. was off-putting (I would have to rate it a 75). The other bottle was more interesting. It exhibited a roasted, hot tar aroma more reminiscent of an Italian Barolo than a classic Pauillac. Perhaps slightly cooked at some point in its life, the wine displayed high alcohol and hot flavors in the finish. While it appeared rustic and disjointed, it was still massive and concentrated. All other bottles of the 1959 Latour have consistently been rated in the mid-nineties.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A Possible Legend Candidate
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 1959 Latour is a magical bottle today and one that nips at the heels of the legendary 1961, even if it doesn't quite hit the same level of quality. Still a youthfully saturated garnet-black in hue, it unwinds in the glass with a rich bouquet of cassis, English walnuts, cigar box and vanilla pod, along with a discreet touch of volatile acidity, which lends aromatic lift more than it detracts (and which actually reminded me of 1960s Unico). Full-bodied, rich and muscular, with huge levels of concentration, ripe tannins and a broad, textural profile, it concludes with a long, resonant finish. Given its structure and substance, this could easily prove to be a 100-year wine, and it will certainly be one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 1959 Latour delivered on the nose…and then some. After several bottles that never quite hit full throttle, this comes at your senses with sensational redcurrant, cranberry, kirsch, cedar, crushed rose petals and orange zest. This is simply jaw-dropping (reminiscent of the earth-shattering bottled I drank when I was a fledgling in the industry). The palate is medium-bodied, with super fine tannin, perfect acidity, smooth and harmonious, with a delicate touch of spice and tobacco. It firms up towards the finish and feels very long and sustained. Superb. Tasted at the Latour dinner in Hong Kong.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 1959 Latour came directly from the château reserves in magnum. Perhaps because of its impeccable provenance, it is deep, almost opaque in color. The bouquet is stunning: black cherries, blackberry, freshly tilled earth, cedar and mint, pure and captivating. The palate is still unerringly youthful with vibrant black fruit, fabulous purity and multi-layered black fruit laced with sea salt and just a touch of liquorice towards the never-ending finish. If you don’t like this, you don’t like Bordeaux (or possibly even wine.) Tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux.
1910(1)1947(2)1948(1)1950(2)1951(1)1952(1)1953(1)1955(1)1956(1)1957(1)1958(2)
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