Chateau Latour 2015

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Blended of 97.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.6% Merlot and 0.3% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Latour is exquisitely perfumed, displaying fragrant notes of crushed black cherries, raspberry preserves, cassis and black plums with nuances of roses, dark chocolate, garrigue, menthol and a waft of sandalwood. The medium-bodied palate beautifully struts its taut, toned, muscular fruit with a frame of very firm, smooth, rounded tannins and compelling freshness, finishing with alluring earth and mineral layers. At once intellectual and sexy, this truly evocative vintage brings to mind the Melanie Griffith line from “Working Girl," possessing a sultry “head for business and a bod for sin."

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: William Kelley

A rich and demonstrative vintage for this estate, the 2015 Latour unfurls in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cassis, loamy soil, espresso roast, pencil shavings and a subtle hint of potpourri. Medium to full-bodied, supple and elegant, with a velvety attack that segues into a sweet, layered mid-palate, it's enveloping and complete, concluding with a sapid finish. The tauter, more classical 2014 is likely to prove longer lived, whereas the giving 2015 is a Latour that it wouldn't be a crime to drink young.

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2015 Latour is a blend of 97.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.6% Merlot (just one historical vat courtesy of old vines interpolated with the Cabernet) and 0.3% Petit Verdot. It represents 30% of the production and is matured in 100% new oak as usual. It has a very complex, nuanced bouquet that needs 10-15 minutes to open. It blossoms with blackberry, briary, hoisin and slate notes, but it remains very focused and linear. The palate is extremely well balanced with fine grain tannin. For certain, this is an intense Latour with a strong and tangible undertow of mineralité. This is classic Latour: aristocratic, aloof at first, perhaps enigmatic compared to other vintages. I wonder if this has something hiding up its sleeve for after bottling?

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2015 Latour, which was bottled in July 2017, has an immediately impactful bouquet with intense black fruit laced with subtle notes of seaweed and sea spray, as if a little of the Gironde estuary imparts its character into the aromatics. It is extremely well defined and very focused, that slate-like note replaced by a subtle mintiness. The palate is silky smooth on the entry that almost betrays the depth and volume of this Latour. This is a voluminous, multifaceted Latour rather than a powerful one, layers of black fruit infused with graphite and cedar that leads to a very long finish. It will require a decade in bottle before it enters its drinking plateau although there is a sense of approachability that I suspect will deceive some into broaching this too early.

vinous98

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

A seamless, totally captivating wine, the 2015 Latour has no beginning and no end, it simply exists in its own little world of pure and total harmony. Nothing is out of place. Instead, the 2015 captivates both the intellectual and hedonistic senses with its remarkable aromatic depth and textural brilliance. Exotic in its ripeness, with tremendous persistence and dazzling balances, the 2015 really does have it all.The 2015 is 97.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.6% Merlot and 0.3% Petit Verdot. Don't miss it.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

A wine of finesse and nuance, the 2015 Latour possesses remarkable polish from start to finish. Beautifully ripe, silky tannins give the 2015 an element of pure sensuality that is front and center in this vintage. Hints of blood orange, spice and mint add an upper register of aromatics. It will be interesting to see if the 2015 gains volume and structure in bottle. For now, some of the explosive power that characterizes Latour is either missing or buried by the fruit. We will see. The 2015 is the first vintage made from biodynamically farmed fruit. Tasted two times.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2015 Latour was bottled in July 2017 and contains 13.04% alcohol. It is blessed with a refined and focused bouquet: perfumed blackberry and raspberry scents, iodine, pine and light pencil shaving aromas. It has dispensed with the subtle fig-like/exotic notes noticeable three years ago, arguably a little more conservative today. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine-grain tannins; harmonious and poised, clean and precise, understated with an irresistible silky texture. The 2015 does not possess a peacock’s tail like a top-tier Latour. No, it prefers to remain cool, calm and collected for now. This sublime First Growth will cruise for many years.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2015 Latour has a sensual, richer and more exotic bouquet than its peers, featuring plush red fruit intermingling with raisin and fig, although there is no sur-maturité here; the wine is just crafted in a more opulent style for this First Growth. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity. This feels very cohesive and focused, and more saline than its peers. Veins of brown spice and leather surface toward the complex, engaging finish. I would have liked a little more length, but otherwise this is very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.