2005 Pauillac de Latour
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Tasting notes
Leather, liquorice, blackcurrant – dense but not massive expressiveness, and very conventional. Still good, but slightly underwhelming considering the provenance. (RH)
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Not to be forgotten is the 2005 Pauillac, a beautifully soft, fruit, berry-scented and flavored effort offering notions of tar, black currants, tobacco leaf, and licorice. Enjoy it over the next 10-12 years. Latour is always the most difficult Medoc first-growth to find, largely because the vineyard and production are much smaller than its’ peers and because of the severe selection routinely done by owner Francois Pinault and administrator Frederic Engerer.
Very deep crimson. Darker even than Les Forts (because of all the press wine, perhaps?). Rather electric nose – positively vibrates. Somehow gives off lots of energy. Mulberries and ripeness at first and then quite a bit of acidity on the finish. Hard work but better than most vintages. 47 per cent of the press wine was included in the blend (normally 15–20 per cent). Finishes very suddenly. (Latour’s third wine.) (JR)
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.