Chateau Latour 2005

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The 2005 Latour (87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) is a spectacular effort from Château Latour. It has an inky plum/purple color and a gorgeous nose of graphite, crème de cassis, and floral notes with some forest floor in the background. It is full-bodied, super-concentrated, and for my taste, probably one of the two or three most intense, rich, and complex wines of the entire Médoc. The wine has great texture, purity and a finish of close to 40 or 45 seconds. The tannins are surprisingly sweet, even in this large-scaled, masculine wine. Drink it over the next 50+ years.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2005 Latour has long been a formidable wine. I was granted the opportunity to re-taste the 2005 at the property after their estate released library reserves in February 2017. Now at twelve years of age, it has retained that riveting bouquet of black cherries and black plum, crème de cassis and graphite, although I find less of the latter compared to previous bottles (including the one tasted blind just three weeks earlier). The palate is very well balanced with blackberry, black plum, sea salt, a hint of balsamic, quite spicy in the mouth with a hint of cloves. There is immense weight and presence in the mouth, although I wonder whether the tannins are as fine as say the 2010 or even the nascent 2016 Latour tasted alongside? Either way, it remains a fabulous First Growth destined to last many, many years. Tasted March 2017.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot, the powerful 2005 Latour is even higher in alcohol and tannin than the extraordinary 2003 (which I believe is a more generously styled wine). The 2005 is a quintessential Latour built for the ages. Monumental levels of concentration and tannin are found in this dense ruby/purple-colored effort. Aromas and flavors of liquid stones, graphite, black cherries, and cassis emerge from this massive yet fresh, lively, incredibly well-delineated Latour. This offering will test the patience of its purchasers as it will require 10-15 years of cellaring, and will keep for a minimum of 4-5 decades. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2060. Ask just about anybody which first-growth is pushing quality to the highest level, and the majority will claim it is Latour. With owner Francois Pinault giving perfectionist administrator Frederic Engerer carte blanche, this estate has been producing spectacular wines since 2000. New cellars, winemaking facilities, and barrel rooms only add to their ability to produce classic wines. Production is much smaller than at other Medoc first-growths with only 44% of the 2005 production making it into the grand vin.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Deep garnet colored, the 2005 Latour presents a wonderful combination of pure cassis, violet and toast notes with nuances of black olives, loam and pencil shavings. The palate offers wonderful richness, balance and seamless, going very long and layered in the finish.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

2005 was a very dry, warm and sunny vintage, causing vine stress in some areas of Bordeaux. Harvested from September 26 to October 6, the tannin/IPT levels were very high this year. The 2005 Latour is blended of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot. It is the biggest surprise of this tasting—until now, the wine was relatively closed and broody, but today the wine is just starting to reveal its personality—and what a stunner! Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it opens with provocative floral scents of roses and violets over a core of fresh blackcurrants, chocolate-covered cherries and black raspberries with hints of fertile loam, unsmoked cigars and black tea. Medium to full-bodied, firm, grainy and packed with muscular fruit, it has an epically long, savory finish sparked by floral notes. 12,000 cases were made.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

This is destined to become an astonishing Bordeaux. A deep limpid colour. The nose is incredibly intense, rather shut down, but it has brooding intensity about it with blackberry, tar, graphite with faint hints of  damson jam and bilberry. The palate is full-bodied, beautifully balanced with superb natural balance. Very structured with powerful black fruits laced with liquorice, dried herbs, sous-bois and tobacco. Primal, very grippy on the off-dry, slightly smoky finish. Amazing persistency and sense of symmetry. Drink 2020-2050+. Tasted September 2008.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Virtually opaque. A very intense nose: again it is all about the definition on the nose: blackberry leaf, touch of mint. Very fresh, brilliant delineation and acidity, superb balance. Captures both classic and modern Latour. Masculine, long-term Latour. Classicists will adore this. Very sophisticated on the finish. It is picking at straws, but at this nascent juncture, Lafite just has the edge.Tasted April 2006.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The colossal 2005 Latour (44% of the total production) is a wine for the ages. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, it possesses the highest alcohol of recent vintages. Different both structurally and texturally from the extraordinary 2003 (which I tend to prefer, although Frederic Engerer clearly disagrees), the black/purple-hued 2005 exhibits high tannin, prodigious concentration, unbelievable purity, amazing freshness and vibrancy, and almost surreal definition and nuances for such a young wine. It is a huge, fresh, backward yet incredibly pure effort that represents a modern day classic, but don’t expect the opulence and exotic sweetness of the 2003. It will close down after bottling, and require at least a decade of cellaring before consuming. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050+.

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Only 44% of the production made it into the dense ruby/purple-hued 2005 Latour, a powerful, backward, 12,000-case blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Petit Verdot and Merlot. As I wrote last year, this classic effort is built for the ages, and is largely destined to be drunk by our offspring rather than anyone over the age of 50 today. Complex aromas of crushed rocks, graphite, black cherries, creme de cassis, new saddle leather, and dried mushrooms are still tightly wound. The wine is full-bodied and powerful with exceptionally high tannin combined with zesty acidity, and laser-like focus. It will require 15 or more years of cellaring. I still prefer the 2003, but administrator Frederic Engerer says this “is more Latour.” Anticipated maturity: 2020-2060. Latour is always the most difficult Medoc first-growth to find, largely because the vineyard and production are much smaller than its’ peers and because of the severe selection routinely done by owner Francois Pinault and administrator Frederic Engerer.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The Château Latour 2005 has an outgoing and ebullient bouquet with blackberries, wild strawberry, minerals and wilted rose petals. It has great intensity and authority, a bouquet that is polished but not over-buffed. The palate is full-bodied with a silky smooth entry. The acidity is beautifully judged, layers of small red cherries, raspberry and cedar, with graphite revealed towards the long and persistent finish with startling architecture. Outstanding.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted single blind at Southwold. The first bottled corked! The second has a very deep, spicy blackberry nose with a hint of melted tar but huge lift and power. The palate has a seductive entry, again, incredibly powerful and primal. Blackberry, espresso, bilberry and a touch of dark chocolate. You just cannot escape how backward and broody this Latour is, the awesome persistency on the grippy finish. But this seems to have really closed up over the last few months. Think ‘decades’ for this Latour…Drink 2020-2050+ Tasted January 2009.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Served blind at the chateau. This is just a beautiful Latour that stood out when tasted blind, even amongst the 2000 and 2005. It just has a beautiful bouquet that has a level of purity that may not have been achieved before although initially it is quite subdued. The palate is full-bodied with a tannic entry, a sense of symmetry at play here, enthralling length and harmony. This is a legend in the making. Tasted December 2009.

vinous100

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2005 Latour was mind-blowingly profound in two recent tastings for this report. Deep and sensual to the core, the 2005 is utterly captivating. All the elements are so seamlessly put together. Graphite, crème de cassis, licorice, dark spice and lavender infuse the 2005 with so much energy. More than anything else, though, the 2005 is a Latour of texture and resonance. Even after several hours, the 2005 is fresh and full of energy. Wines like this are just life affirming. That's about all I can really say. Tasted two times.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2005 Latour is nowhere near being ready to drink. For example, both the 2001 and 2002 were much more expressive when they were re-released a few years ago. The 2005, on the other hand is quite muted, especially in its aromatics. There is plenty of depth, power and overall persistence, but readers have to be prepared to cellar the 2005 for at least another few years. Its longevity, on the other hand, should not be an issue.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

($1; 500-$2,000) Deep ruby-red. Reticent, brooding aromas of cassis, black plum, graphite and flowers. Then utterly explosive in the mouth, with wonderful sappy complexity of flavor and a thickness of texture that builds and builds toward the back; almost no sign of the new oak here. Offers a near-magical combination of power and refinement, but this extremely primary wine is still an infant. Finishes with extraordinary persistence that leaves the palate vibrating. One of the greatest young Bordeaux I've tasted in recent years, and more complete and classic than the outrageously lush 2003. For his part, Engerer feels that this wine combines the best traits of the 2003 and 2000 Latours. I made the mistake of retasting the 2007 after trying this, and the tannins of the younger wine came off as dry by comparison.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Deep ruby. Extravagantly ripe, deep nose offers black cherry, cassis, plum, mocha, minerals and flowers. Hugely sweet but with a mineral energy giving it great lift and definition in the mouth. This complete and highly complex wine saturates the entire palate with material and builds slowly but inexorably on the back. With its tactile, solid impression of extract, this is literally hard to spit. In comparison to this huge but perfectly balanced wine, the young 2006 is distinctly more compact today.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Deep ruby-red. Cassis, blackberry, violet, minerals and licorice on the nose. Dense and sappy in the mouth, with a wonderfully tactile quality and great finesse but youthfully unforthcoming today. The greatness of the wine can be seen on the almost painfully intense, slow-building, resounding finish, which features major tannic clout, extraordinary texture and breadth of flavor and great verve. You can't scrape this juice off your palate; I had the impression that the flavors were stronger after I had swirled and spit the wine. Engerer believes that the 2005 Latour is a more complete wine than either the 2000 or the 2003 made here. The 2000, he told me, could have used a bit more length, volume and brilliance of fruit, while the 2003 lacks classic aromas. The 2005, he added, has it all. This may well be a wine that lasts a half-century.