2005 Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Very intense nose – massive concentration. Deep blackish ruby. Lift and minerals and pzazz. Very Latour. Very grown-up. Spicy and absolutely classic. 

Drink 2018 - 2035

76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot.

Ruby-red. Cool aromas of crunchy blueberry, black cherry, flowers and minerals. Suave, precise and vibrant, with cabernet-dominated flavours of black cherry and minerals. Offers superb subtle sweetness, and finishes with outstanding backbone and length. This will be approachable far earlier than Latour; even today the tannins are firm but not hard. Latour recently purchased 12 hectares of cabernet vines between 30 and 40 years of age, and much of this parcel went into Les Forts de Latour in 2005.

The 2005 Les Forts de Latour is another beautiful wine from this estate. Medium to full-bodied, with a dense ruby/purple color, loads of blackcurrant fruit, earth, and spice, the wine is extremely pure, broad, savory, and quite expensive. This is a fabulous second wine, but in essence, this is really of classified growth quality.

Drink 2015 - 2035

Open-knit yet deep and powerful, the 2005 Les Forts de Latour is striking today. The pedigree of the vintage comes through in spades. Expressive, perfumed aromatics meld into a core of supple, open-knit fruit in a mid-weight, impeccably balanced Forts de Latour. Hints of red fruit, iron, smoke and tobacco add lovely shades of nuance. Latour's President Frédéric Engerer adds that 2005 was the easiest and most balanced growing season including 2009 and 2010) he has seen because his team had the total flexibility of choosing when to harvest.

Drink 2016 - 2025

Very classy with plenty of raspberry, currant, and licorice character. This is dense and compacted on the palate. Leave it for at least two or three years from now.