Chateau Latour 1979

robert_parker86

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

I have always felt this wine had the potential to be as good as the 1971, but in this tasting it did not perform as well as I had hoped. It exhibits an earthy, tree bark-scented nose, with a vague, undefined black fruit character in the background. Medium-bodied and surprisingly light for a Latour, the flavors possess huge tannins and crisp acids, without the balancing fatness and richness to suggest harmony will occur. This atypically coarse, unusual wine tastes awkward and disjointed. Last tasted, 7/93.

robert_parker92

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

A beautiful plummy, aniseed infuse nose. Not powerful, but great balance with prunes, dried leaves and aniseed on palate. A little austere but drinking well now. Better than 1978. Intriguing. A second bottle in December 2004. Again that odd aniseed nose that is so distinct. High-toned, almost New Worldy. But it lacks complexity. The palate is fleshy with notes of redcurrant of coffee. Unlike the first time I tasted this, I find this wine a bit false, bit of a "Frankenstein" Latour. Quite bretty on the finish. Drink up.

robert_parker88

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

This wine has been difficult to evaluate, as evidenced by mutiple tasting notes that varied greatly in terms of the wine's style and quality. In most examples, the 1979 Latour has been backward and astringent, with medium body and reasonably good fruit. Two examples have been quite rich, with noticeable acidity, medium body, and the classic Latour mineral, walnut, and black fruit character. As I have said before, this wine is a light-bodied version of the outstanding 1971 Latour. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005. Last tasted 1/97