2005 Château Latour-Martillac
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Firm plum colour with warm earth aromatics, this is balanced, enjoyable, showcasing a consistent house style. Dark cassis and brambled fruit, has richness of fruit and clear persistency, supremely drinkable. In its drinking window and not going anywhere. Solid performance. 40% new oak, harvest September 13 to October 10.
Critic scores
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 2005 Latour-Martillac is dark and brooding in the glass. It possesses tremendous density and power, but less in the way of finesse. Dark red/bluish fruits, lavender, spice, menthol, game and scorched earth abound. This huge, potent Pessac-Léognan may turn out to be long-lived, but I would prefer to drink it sooner rather than later, as the huge tannins and angular contours are only going to become even more overpowering than they are today.
Tasted blind. Deep, rich gold. Gingery, spicy and now oxidised. May have been quite exciting once. (JR)
Dense ruby purple, with the oak still showing a trifle too much, this 2005 is concentrated, rich, and possibly the most extracted and densest of any wine I have ever tasted from Latour-Martillac. Still youthful (with lots of cassis and graphite), this 2005 has entered its plateau of maturity. It should hit its prime in another 5 years and last a quarter of a century or more.
About the producer
Owned and managed by the Kressman family, Latour-Martillac is one of the region’s most recognisable estates – with the eponymous tower standing proudly at its entrance. Its 50 hectares of vines produce benchmark Pessac.