1988 Château Latour

The 1988 Latour has a slightly more powerful nose than the Lafite-Rothschild, with hints of black olive, sage and sous-bois infusing the black fruit. But it doesn't fully reach the complexity of the best vintages of Latour. The palate has a wonderful backbone and grip, with hints of cooked meat. It sedately shimmies into its secondary phase, easing off the gas towards the finish with more density than its peers. This is the best bottle of the 1988 that I have tasted. Excellent. Tasted at the 1988 Bordeaux dinner at Noble Rot Mayfair.

The 1988 Latour is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It has quite a deep colour considering that it is now 30 years old with little maturation on its rim. I appreciate the nose here: quite dense at first and yet well-defined, plenty of fruit extant that is now laced with sandalwood, sous-bois, sage and just a hint of liquorish. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin. This Latour is quite savory in style with touches of allspice, meat juices infusing the black fruit that dovetail into a tarry, graphite finish. It is less austere than I was expecting and the substance and freshness suggests that it will continue to drink well for a number of years. Tasted at the château.

Deep crimson. Looks more youthful than the 1994. Fireworks fragrance. A little gentler and suppler than the 1998. Softening. Very correct and very typical. (JR)