Chateau Latour 2016

Jane Anson: "Impressively precise and muscular, no question that this needs longer in the bottle before really being ready to drink, but everything is in place for decades of pleasure. Smart timing of this release, a vintage that underlines without question just why Latour is so revered, and why there is a clear logic to holding it back at the estate for almost a decade, allowing the first part of its ageing cycle to take place under fully controlled conditions. Very much a classic Pauillac, with confidence and character, waves of mint leaf, coffee bean, cola, crushed rocks, crayon and liqourice root, opening up to show fragrant nuances of rose petals and peony. 100% new oak for ageing. Hélène Genin technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant, and at this point Latour was farming entirely organically and biodynamically, with organic certification coming in 2018."

James Suckling: "I am dreaming as I smell this wine, perfectly ripe cabernet sauvignon with currants, tobacco and fresh mint. Orange blossoms too. This amazing nose is so complex. Medium- to full-bodied, this has has perfectly integrated tannins that you don't feel but know are there, elevating the wine to another level. It's very drinkable because of its stellar balance, yet the tannic tension gives it energy and seamless texture. A benchmark Latour that reminds me of the 1982 in many ways. Drink or hold."

Weinwisser: "92,9 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 7,1 % Merlot (kein Cabernet Franc und Petit Verdot im Grand Vin). Undurchsichtiges Purpur mit schwarzer Mitte und lila Rand. Dicht verwobenes, blau- und schwarzbeeriges Bouquet, das eine unendliche Tiefe und kühle Aristokratie anzeigt: Süsse Heidelbeeren, dahinter Brombeeren, Veilchen, würziges Schwarzbrot, viel Cassis und edelste Röstnoten. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit reifem, engmaschigem Tanningerüst, das Kraftpaket explodiert mit gewaltiger Konzentration von Cassis und Holunderessenz, gepaart mit Frische und Mineralik. Das ewig lange Finale endet auf schwarzen Oliven, Wacholder und Wildkirschen. Ganz grosses Latour- Kino für die Ewigkeit!"

Vinum: VINUM: Hat nichts von seiner ausserordentlichen Klasse verloren, seiner Komplexität, seiner immensen Frische und Rasse, dem ausserordentlichen Bau mit Tannin das seidigen Schliff mit herber Frische verbindet, seiner immensen Länge... Ausserordentlicher Wein, dessen Auslieferung nicht verpassen sollte, wer sich eine Flasche davon leisten kann und will."

Decanter: "A monumental wine from Latour. This isn't yet ready to drink but offers an impactful and promising palate full of muscle, tension and length. A complex nose filled with pencil lead, crayon, cola, mint, dried herbs, violets, and tobacco, layered with cocoa powder and espresso nuances. On the palate, it is both generous and controlled, suave and slick, with an effortless texture that fills the mouth with bright red fruits and cool, stony elements. The wine expands beautifully, with a powdery, fleshy grip leading to a long, mineral-driven finish marked by wet stones, graphite, and cola. Still compact and somewhat caged, the tannins remain firm and structured, almost austere in their tension. It carries a sense of power and poise, but still with supreme charm. 3.7pH."

Jeb Dunnuck: "Retasting the 2016 Château Latour next to both the 2010 and 2022 had me feeling like a kid in a candy store. Needing lots of air to show at its best, its dense purple hue is followed by quintessential Latour notes of smoky blackcurrants, scorched earth, graphite, and lead pencil shavings. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Pauillac that has lively acids, a pure, seamless, layered mouthfeel, building yet perfectly ripe tannins, and that rare Latour mix of power, austerity, and elegance that makes this château so compelling. Pulled from just 36% of the total production, the 2016 is 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot hitting 13.5 alcohol with an IPT of 83. It's primarily academic at this stage, but it's starting to round the corner and clearly, with its level of fruit and overall balance, offers pleasure. I think it needs another 5-7 years to hit the early stages of its prime drinking window and will have 75-100 years of overall longevity."

Falstaff: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, Brombeeren, Lakritze, schwarze Kirschen, ein Hauch von reifen Pflaumen, deutliche Edelholzwürze, ein Hauch von Veilchen. Stoffig, intensive schwarze Beerenfrucht, voll Energie, straffe, perfekte Tannine, wirkt zunächst monolithisch und kühl, integrierte Fruchtsüße, entwickelt im Glas schnell feine Fruchtsüße und Charme, bleibt minutenlang haften, perfekter Cabernet-Wein, scheint für die Ewigkeit gebaut."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown: "The 2016 Latour is a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gives nothing away for the first few moments of swirling, then begins to offer suggestions of freshly crushed blackcurrants and blackberries, followed by suggestions of lilacs, charcoal, iron ore, and black truffles, plus wafts of fragrant soil and garrigue. The medium-bodied palate is like an atomic bomb waiting to go off, taut with tightly wound black fruits and mineral layers, supported by firm, super-ripe, grainy tannins, finishing on an epically persistent ferrous note."

The Wine Cellar Insider: "With a deep, dark hue, you already note the tobacco, cigar box, wet earth, cassis, forest floor and blackberry characteristics with little effort, That\'s just the perfume. On the palate you find volume, intensity, purity, complexity, freshness and silky, salty tannins. The wine fills your mouth with a perfect combination of acidity and fruit. The mineral driven, oceanic sensation that accompanies the fruit is just great, staying with you as all that ripe, red-fruit builds and expands. Elegant, powerful and refined, this will age for 4-5-6 decades or longer. The wine was produced from blending 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot."

Wine Spectator: " Densely packed with cassis, blackberry and black cherry preserve flavors, this glides rather than pounds, with remarkable purity, sleek graphite and tobacco notes, and a long finish that glistens like just-polished steel. Don't think the sleekness means a lack of longevity; this is balanced like a Calder sculpture, and the graphite spine is the bedrock that will let this sashay to being one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage. Best from 2025 through 2045."

Jancis Robinson: "Tasted blind. Heady and sweet with very ripe black-fruit flavours on the nose. Very rich and sweet with massive appeal but maybe just one notch too ripe?? New style!"