Château Latour 2012

Special Price $623.95 Average US Price $718.00
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3135-2012
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• Domaine: Château Latour
• Appellation: Pauillac
• Classification: First Growth, 1èr Grand Cru Classé
• Origin: Left Bank, Bordeaux, France

At Château Latour, Cabernet Sauvignon is king.  The estate boasts the most plantings of this regal varietal out of all the First Growths at about 10,000 plants per hectare – that’s over 80% of its vineyard!  The wines of Château Latour possess everything a Cabernet-lover dreams about.  Raw, unbridled power, energy, stunning fruit, and of course – ageability.  Château Latour’s Grand Vin is one of the most age-worthy wines on the market, with the ability to lay down for decades.  

In fact, Latour wines are so robust, that in 2012 Château Latour made the radical decision to eliminate Futures and only release their wines when they were ready to drink.   It’s decisions like these – and many others – that put Château Latour in a league of its own.  The visionaries at this property do not rest on their laurels by any means.  Instead, they focus tirelessly on making innovative choices in their relentless pursuit of a perfect bottle, vintage after vintage.

Their instincts are often spot on-  Château Latour is one of the most consistent First Growths on the market, producing knockout vintages year after year.

References to Château Latour date as far back to the 1300s, where its fortress served as a garrison during the 100 Year’s War.  The Château really became known for its wine legacy when Marquis de Ségur – whom Louis XV affectionately referred to as, “the Wine Prince,”– snapped up the property as an addition to his collection of legendary châteaux.  It seemed Marquis de Ségur had the magic touch, considering he owned the second-to-none Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Calon Ségur as well.  During Marquis de Ségur’s ownership, the Château experienced a golden age and rose to prominence, earning its First Growth title during the 1855 Classification.   

Château Latour has often stood at the forefront of vineyard management with cutting-edge practices.  In 1965, they were one of the first châteaux to introduce stainless steel vats to the fermentation process.  In 2008, they reassessed their vineyard management processes and decided to implement horses to plough the soil.  Château Latour is one of the leading châteaux in terms of organic winemaking and obtained their organic certification from Ecocert in 2015.  For some of the choicest parcels, the château uses Biodynamic philosophies and curates each vintage based on the weather conditions and lunar calendar.   There is no end to the amount of energy, resources, and time the winemaking team at Château Latour will put into ensuring the best harvest is brought to bottle. 

The wines of Château Latour are considered standouts in unremarkable years and in great years, they are considered legendary.

Tasting Notes

"The 2012 Latour has a potent bouquet of blackberry, graphite and distinctive tertiary notes [instead of more marine scents observed four years earlier]. Initially, the palate is slightly disjointed on the entry and displays a subtle herbal quality, plus hints of pencil shavings. The 2012 demands a few minutes to really coalesce and achieve the precision and pixelation that have been the hallmark of this Grand Vin in its youth. Layers of black fruit coat the mouth, and a bitter edge lends tension, particularly toward the very persistent finish. Though its release implies, and the rhetoric from the château indicates, that it is ready to drink, if you want my advice, cellar the 2012 for another five or six years to witness it in full flight. It has always been a candidate for wine of the vintage... just have a bit of patience." - Neal Martin, vinous (4/2020), Ratings: 96, Drink: 2027-2055

"The 2012 Latour is a blend of 90.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.6% Merlot and 0.2% Petit Verdot. Medium to deep garnet colored, the nose slowly, measuredly emerges with notions of preserved Morello cherries, baked blackcurrants and blackberry compote, giving way to nuances of pencil shavings, unsmoked cigars, Chinese five spice and sandalwood plus ever so subtle hints of cardamom and eucalyptus. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black and red fruit preserves with a firm, grainy-textured frame and fantastic freshness, finishing with a veritable firework display of lingering spices and minerals. This is a more restrained, relatively elegant vintage of Latour that may not have that “iron fist in a velvet glove” power of the greatest vintages but nonetheless struts its superior terroir and behind-the-scenes savoir faire with impressive panache. It is drinking nicely now with suitably rounded-off, approachable tannins, and the tertiary characters are just beginning to bring some more cerebral elements into the compote of temptingly primary black fruits. But, if you’re looking to drink it in full, flamboyant swing, give it another 5-10 years in bottle and drink it over the next 20-25 years+." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (3/5/2020), Ratings: 96+, Drink: 2020-2050



More Information
LWIN 1012345
Stock Status In Stock
Appellation Pauillac
Vintage 2012
Brand Château Latour
Shipping Weight 3.000000
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Pauillac is best known as the appellation that produces 3 of the 5 First Growths estates in Bordeaux. Blessed by an exceptional terroir, Pauillac is located in the northern part of the Médoc peninsula, on the Left Bank along the Gironde estuary, an ideal placement contributing to moderating the climate and providing optimal conditions for wine cultivation. Pauillac is bordered by two other prestigious wine appellations: Saint-Estèphe to the north and Saint-Julien to the south.

Pauillac's terroir, characterized by gravelly soils, is often considered one of the finest for the production of Cabernet Sauvignon, the predominant grape in Pauillac’s blends. The gravel helps with drainage and reflects heat, encouraging ripening and concentration of flavors in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec grapes. Such exceptional predispositions explain that Pauillac is home to some of Bordeaux's most renowned and iconic wine estates. They include First Growths estates such as Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Mouton Rothschild, and Château Latour. Other famous estates include Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, Château Pichon-Lalande, Château Duhart-Milon, Château Pontet-Canet, Château Batailley, Château Lynch Bages, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Château Grand-Puy Ducasse, Château Haut-Batailley, Château Lynch-Moussas, Château d'Armailhac, Château Haut-Bages Liberal, Château Pedesclaux, Château Clerc Milon, Château Croizet-Bages.

Pauillac wines are known for their deep color, complex aromas, and rich, full-bodied flavors, including notes of cassis, blackcurrant, cedar, tobacco, and graphite, with a pronounced tannic structure, which require several years or even decades of bottle aging to reveal their full potential. 

Footnotes on Futures, Pre-Arrivals, and potential US Tariffs: 

1. As of June 15, 2021, the US and the EU agreed to suspend tariffs resulting from the Boeing-Airbus aircraft trade disputes. Accordingly, such import taxes are now suspended for the next five years.

2. Futures are expected to be available for delivery two years after the sales (e.g., the 2022 vintage, sold in 2023, will be delivered in 2025 mostly, or 2026 if the producer ages the wine longer).

3. Pre-Arrivals are items currently stored in our Bordeaux cellar or in transit from France to the US. It usually takes 1-6 months for Pre-Arrivals to become available for delivery, depending on the stage of the import process.

4. Regarding futures and pre-arrivals, we cannot guarantee specific delivery dates, which factors beyond our control may impact. However, we will notify you once your wine arrives in our cellar.

5. While a buyer of Bordeaux wine futures locks in an allocation of the specified items, the final delivery of the purchased items from France to the US may be impacted by intervening and unforeseeable events. Despite our due diligence, additional costs or delays may be caused by such intervening and unforeseen events and "an irresistible, superhuman cause, or by the act of public enemies of the state of California or the United States."  In such circumstances, if a buyer does not accept unforeseeable costs or delays, the sole and exclusive remedy is a cancellation of the futures order concerned and a refund of the original purchase price. We are NOT liable for any lost profits on a canceled order.

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