2018 Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac, Bordeaux

65.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 0.4% Petit Verdot. 2.4% press wine. 42% of production. Barrel sample.

Black core, purple rim. Intense pure blackcurrant. Dark and scented. Lively, juicy and fresh. More supple than the Pauillac with greater tannic finesse. Lightly charry, savoury and refined and the texture is really elegant even though there's a big tannic charge. Dark, savoury harmony. Direct and long and more aromatic and floral with air.

Drink 2025 - 2035

This is pretty serious and will take its time to come round with more evident austerity than many second wines in Pauillac in this vintage, no doubt a reflection of the high amount of tannins, but it’s clearly extremely good quality with real bite and attitude. It’s reflective of the estate’s first wine in 2018 for sure, and a whiff of 2010 about it, showing bounce and juice but just takes its time to come through. 42% of production. 2.4% press wine. 74 IPT.

Drink 2024 - 2038

The 2018 Les Forts de Latour has an almost penetrating bouquet of precocious black cherries, orange peel and violet aromas that could almost be a cool-climate Napa and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way). The palate is powerful and multidimensional, almost bowling over the senses like skittles, so your appreciation depends on whether that is something you desire. Either way, it’s a Les Forts de Latour you won’t forget.

Drink 2023 - 2050

60% new oak

In the line up, this is a year older than the Pauillac de Latour, but very clearly deeper and more intense in colour, reflecting the 24hl/h yield after a challenging growing season first with mildew and then with the heat of the summer. The rich texture is immediately apparent, and it needs time to open in the glass, as bottle ageing has tamed the exuberance of En Primeur and given way to a classically muscular expression of the estate character.

Those Pauillac tannins are exerting their influence, cradling blackcurrant and damson fruits, cocoa bean, baking spice, graphite, espresso, turmeric and black pepper. A wine that reflects the intensity of the summer, with everything knitted down and austere, I suggest a few more years in bottle before opening to allow more joy to come through, and decant well before serving. 42% of the overall estate production in this wine.

Drink 2025 - 2040

The 2018 Les Forts de Latour is made up of 65.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 0.4% Petit Verdot, with 14.2% alcohol and an IPT total polyphenol index) of 77. It was aged in 60% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a fair bit of swirling to reveal notions of baked black cherries, cassis and blackberry pie with hints of pencil lead, clove oil, cardamom and allspice with a waft of violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers impressive density with velvety tannins and a lively backbone supporting the generous black fruits, finishing long with all the earthy nuances coming through at the very end.

Drink 2025 - 2045

A solid and steely red with lots of blackcurrant and blueberry character. Medium-to full-bodied and polished, fine tannins. Flavorful finish.

Stepping up on the serious scale, the 2018 Les Forts De Latour checks in as a mix of 65.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and just a splash of Petit Verdot. It boasts a deeper purple color as well as powerful notes of high-class smoke tobacco, graphite, crushed rocks, and ample black and blue fruits. Rich, full-bodied, concentrated, and yet still perfectly balanced, it's another brilliant second wine from Latour that competes with most estates’ top wines.

The 2018 Les Forts de Latour is surprisingly approachable. It boasts serious concentration because of the warm dry summer and ensuing low yields, yet the intensity of the fruit pretty much covers the tannins, quite unusual for young Forts de Latour. Dark-toned fruit, gravel, incense, licorice and scorched earth add to the wine's distinctive sepia-toned personality. The 2018 turned out beautifully.

Drink now to 2038

A blend of 65.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and 0.4% Petit Verdot, Les Forts de Latour 2018 has a deep garnet-purple color. It storms out of the glass with powerful scents of blackberry pie, boysenberry preserves, and crème de cassis, melding into a background of sandalwood, Indian spices, dusty soil, and licorice, with a hint of dried flowers. The medium to full-bodied palate is powerful and seductive, delivering firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness to frame the generous flavors of black fruit preserves, finishing long and opulent.

Drink 2025 - 2050