Chateau Latour - Les Forts de Latour 2017

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is really minerally with crushed stones and dark berries. Some licorice. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a beautiful, tight and focused finish. Such energy, delivered down a straight line."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color and strides confidently out of the glass with classic notes of plum preserves, warm cassis and pencil shavings with nuances of mulberries, pencil lead, Indian spices and forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate packs a lot of fruit into a very elegant, tightly knit palate, delivering expressive blackberry and spicy flavors with a firm frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with a peppery kick."

WEINWISSER: "65,2 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot, 0,8 % Cabernet Franc, 0,1 % Petit Verdot. Deutlich höherer Merlot-Anteil gegenüber dem Grand Vin. Sattes Rubingranat mit lila Rand. Schon im Duft tiefgestaffelt und vielschichtig. Duftige Waldbeeren mit parfümiertem Tabak wechseln sich mit Heidelbeeren, Flieder und viel spürbarer, tiefgründiger Mineralik ab. Am festen Gaumen mit gutem Zug und reifem, feinsprödem Extrakt sowie reifen, stützenden Tanninen. Im konzentrierten Finale mit getrockneten blauen Beeren im Nachhall. Besticht durch seine beruhigende, klassische Ausrichtung, kratzt an der 18/20."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour has a medium to deep garnet color with a lingering hint of purple. It prances out of the glass with fragrant scents of black raspberries, mulberries, and black currant pastilles, leading to suggestions of lilacs, iron ore, fragrant earth, and black truffles, plus a waft of fallen leaves. The palate delivers an elegantly styled, medium body with fantastically ripe, ever so fine-grained tannins and beautiful tension supporting the intense black and red berry layers, finishing with impressive length and loads of mineral and floral sparks."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This bold, structured wine is packed with blackberry fruits and ripe tannins. Freshness and structure from the Cabernet Sauvignon are very present, giving a crisp edge to the solid backbone. This is a wine for aging. Don't drink before 2023."

DECANTER: "Decanted two hours before tasting, tons of spice, as with the Pauillac de Latour. This feels bright and perky with real character. Perhaps a little less austere than the 2014 at this stage but it has that freshness and crystal minerality about it, and is seriously accomplished. The powerful Pauillac tannins are very much there but take their time to build up slowly over the palate, giving you room to breathe and enjoy the ride before they close things up."

JEB DUNNUCK: "A step up, the 2017 Les Forts De Latour includes more Cabernet Sauvignon and is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and a splash of Cabernet Franc. Creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, damp earth, and a touch of cedar pencil all emerge from the glass, and it's beautifully textured and medium to full-bodied, with terrific purity and a great finish. While it's a second wine, I suspect it will evolve for 20-30 years."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Forest floor, cedar, tobacco leaf and fresh, dark red berries open the wine. Ripe, sweet tannins, juicy, fresh cassis and plenty of fruit and cigar wrapper in the zesty finish to satisfy a discerning consumer. This wine has a lot of lift but the tannins are soft enough, that you should be able to enjoy this in a few years, and it's going to age well too. The wine was produced from blending 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and .08% Cabernet Franc."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Bright and fresh, featuring floral, cassis and plum aromas and flavors allied to a sleek, iron-tinged frame. Racy tension through the finish lets the fruit play out while the minerality blossoms. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Very dark with black core. Extremely pure cassis nose. Tight and dark and savoury on the palate with graphite dark freshness. Very fine texture, dry but not drying. Paper layers of subtle tannins building density but shot through with pure cassis scent. Extremely moreish and fresh. Long and scented on the finish. (JH)"

VINUM: "Gut gezeichnet, mit Frische und Rasse, robust und doch mit Schliff, ideale Länge; erfreulich."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, schwarze Kirschen, ein Hauch von Lakritze, Nuancen von Edelholz. Kandierte Orangenzesten. Straff, Brombeerkonfit, integrierte Tannine, etwas austrocknend, mineralisch, rotbeerig, zitronig-mineralischer Rückgeschmack."