Chateau Latour 1er Grand Cru 2014

Bordeaux Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot.

The 2014 Latour has a beautifully defined bouquet with intertwined blackberry, briary, crushed stone and pencil box scents. This takes time to unfold in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with tobacco and graphite-infused black fruit framed by svelte tannins. This has a fine bead of acidity, cohesive with straight-down-the-line Pauillac tropes of graphite and tobacco towards the finish. Strict and aristocratic, the tobacco element has been accentuated with time. Superb. 95 Neal Martin, Vinous (2022).

The 2014 Latour captures the personality of the year in its linear, lithe construction. It's a decidedly understated Latour that is more about finesse than brawn. Bright red cherry/plum fruit, spice, mint and sweet tobacco open over time, but at this level, wines are more about a feel, an expression of place and a vintage. The 2014 Latour embodies all the best this cool, late-ripening growing season had to offer. I loved the 2014 when it was first shown, about five years ago, and I love it today. It is a super-classic Pauillac. 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous (2022).

The 2014 Latour is one of the very finest wines of a vintage that favoured the northern Médoc. Mingling aromas of wild berries and cassis with hints of cigar wrapper, loamy soil, black truffles and classy new oak, it’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated, its broad attack segueing into a deep, tightly wound mid-palate that’s framed by powdery, chalky tannins and bright acids, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. This classically balanced, youthfully structured young wine looks set to enjoy prodigious longevity. It’s reminiscent of a modern-day version of a cooler vintage such as 1996, though of course these days maturity is more complete and selection even more rigorous than was the case two decades ago. 97+ William Kelley, Wine Advocate (2022).

My Left Bank wine of the vintage. Superb cassis fruit from 89.9% Cabernet Sauvignon yet almost understated for Latour. Wonderful ripe texture and chalky tannins, the 'Latour soil' showing more than the 'Latour style' of the past. Pure Cabernet over pure gravel, beautifully expressed. 96 Steven Spurrier, Decanter (2015).

Reddish purple rim. Expressive on the nose; cocoa powder, truffle, soft spices, blackcurrant pastilles, black cherries and mint - the best Cabernet aromatics. Great delicacy here, this is so poised and elegant, a touch of soft sweetness to the red and black fruits. Tannins fill the mouth but this is well handled, less plump and round, more direct and linear but with a beautiful fragrance, delicacy and texture that fills the mouth but gently. Still so much juice and freshness as well as softly cooling mint tones. The fresh, vibrant flavour makes you think you could drink it now but it's only the tannins that suggest it needs longer. Still, it's lovely, with such well placed fruit flavours that hits all sides of the mouth and lingers long after the finish. 96 Georgina Hindle, Decanter (2021).

Drinking Window: 2028 - 2055