2009 Les Forts de Latour
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Tasting notes
The 2009 Bordeaux vintage was highly anticipated, tasting at En Primeur they were delicious and very forward drinking especially compared to the 2010’s when they were released. The 2009 vintage in my mind was also the first vintage where the ‘2nd Wines’ came in to their own. They shed the tag and the wines on offer from the First Growth estates were stunning and received fantastic acclaim, many scoring higher than their Grand Vin siblings in lesser vintages. No more so than Les Forts de Latour, the 2009 is beautiful, an Ex Château release from 2018. My first experience of En Primeur was the 2009 vintage so I have fond memories of the trip and glamour of visiting the prestigious Château I had only read about. Even unwrapping the tissue filled me with excitement. A lot of red fruit on the nose, it had an hour in the decanter so was singing when it was paired with my Venison fillet. A long finish, this wine has plenty of time ahead of it but it is just delicious, everything you would want from a Bordeaux!
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Les Forts de Latour is engaging and quite complex on the nose with blackberry, bilberry, hints of brine and freshly rolled tobacco, all very well delineated and gaining vigor with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine but firm tannin that frame layers of black fruit laced with pencil lead and tobacco, very convincing on the finish that has one of the longest lengths of any Pauillac in this flight. Excellent.”
Possibly the best second wine ever made at Latour (and I love how the 1982 is drinking at age 30), the 2009 Les Forts de Latour is composed of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot blended with a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, and finished at 13.5% alcohol. Juicy notes of creme de cassis, licorice, camphor, smoke and crushed rocks are followed by a rich, unctuously textured, thick, juicy, exceptionally pure, long wine. This beauty will be at its finest in several years and should keep for three decades.
The deep garnet colored 2009 Les Forts de Latour springs forth with minted chocolate, blackberry pie, sweaty leather and cast iron pan notes with hints of bay leaves and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied and laden with muscular black fruit preserves and savory layers, it has a firm, grainy frame and lovely freshness, finishing with a minty kick.
About the producer
One of Bordeaux’s five First Growths, as classified in 1855, Ch. Latour is among the most famous addresses in Pauillac and the world. The estate is renowned for its long-ageing, powerful and structured wines.