Château Latour 2014

Château Latour is one of the four original Premier Cru (First Growth) estates according to the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, which ranks the top wineries in the region.

It has a long history dating back to the 14th century when it was originally a fortified tower that served as a garrison during the 100 Year’s War. Over time, it was converted into a wine estate and became one of the most highly regarded wineries in Bordeaux. The vineyards of Château Latour cover 78 hectares and are planted with primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.

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.   

The wine produced by Château Latour is highly sought after and is known for its complexity, depth, and aging potential.  They stand out in unremarkable years and in great years, are often considered legendary.  It is typically full-bodied with strong tannins and flavors of black currant, cedar, and spice. The winery produces several different wines, including a grand vin (first wine), as well as a second wine called Les Forts de Latour and a third wine called Pauillac de Château Latour.

Château Latour has been owned by the Pinault family since 1993, and they have invested heavily in the estate, including renovating the cellars and modernizing the winemaking facilities. Today, Château Latour continues to be one of the most prestigious and highly regarded wineries in the world, with its wines regularly commanding high prices at auction and in the secondary market.  In 2012, Mr. Pinault made the radical decision to stop releasing wine futures and only release the wine when it is ready to drink.   Decisions like this – and many others – 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.

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. 

"Deeper, richer, more concentrated, and stately than the Les Forts De Latour, the 2014 Château Latour is the wine of the vintage from the Médoc. Possessing a flawless, full-bodied, sexy and surprisingly open style on the palate, it’s relatively closed aromatically and only reluctantly gives up notes of cassis, chocolate, and lead pencil shavings. With incredible tannin quality, a layered, concentrated mid-palate, perfect balance and a great finish, it’s a classic Latour, as well as one of the few 2014s that demands cellaring. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and I suspect it will continue drinking nicely over the following three decades." - Jeb Dunnuck, (11/30/2017), Ratings: 96, Drink: 2023-2053

"The 2014 Latour, which was bottled in July 2016, but of course will not be released for several years depending upon subsequent vintages, has a very pure, tightly-wound bouquet with blackberry fruit infused with black olive and graphite, just as it was out of barrel during en primeur. After several minutes, it is joined by subtle hints of pressed violets. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This is very classic in style, exhibiting superb freshness and harmony, the texture perhaps a little silkier than I recollect from barrel. It fans out with a very attractive marine influence that it shares with its neighbor Léoville Las-Cases, whilst the persistence is very impressive and reinforces its First Growth pedigree. This should be a quintessential Latour once released: aristocratic and noble." - Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate (3/31/2017), Ratings: 96, Drink: 2025-2055

"The Château Latour 2014 is a blend of 89.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9.2% Merlot, with a pinch of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Harvest took place from 18 September with the Merlot vines and finished with the Cabernet, picked between 6 and 15 October. The alcohol level here comes in at a modest 12.89%. It has a very pure and seductive bouquet with an irresistible cocktail of black and red fruit (perhaps more towards the red side of the fruit spectrum compared to Lafite-Rothschild), flanked by hints of black olive and pencil lead. The palate is underpinned by a lattice of very fine tannin matched with well-judged acidity. Despite the irregularity of the season this is quintessential Latour with that unmistakable stoic, aristocratic finish. This is a serious Grand Vin that should age in consummate fashion, and there is some irony that possibly the finest contribution to the 2014 vintage will not be made available to consumers for a number of years. In a word - regal." - Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate (4/29/2015), Ratings: 95-97, Drink: 2025-2050