Forts de Latour (2nd wine of Ch Latour) 2009

Pauillac, Second wine

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Tasting Notes

The 2009 Les Forts de Latour shows the richness of the vintage in its dark, slightly roasted flavors. Ample and sumptuous in the glass, the 2009 drinks well now, but it also gives the impression of limited upside, so I would not hang on to it for more than a handful of years. Mocha, espresso, dark fruit and spices add to a feeling of weight and power.

Score: 91

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2016-2024 01 July 2016

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Les Forts de Latour has a very fragrant, floral bouquet with lifted blackberry, raspberry cheesecake, vanilla and graphite on the nose. The palate is full-bodied with succulent ripe black fruit on the entry. It is fleshier than its peers, with very good weight and a smooth, rounded, velvety finish that is seeking a little more precision and tension.

Score: 93

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 31 July 2013

Tasted at the château, a blend of 65.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32.3% Merlot, 0.6% Cabernet Franc and 1.9% Petit Vedot, this Les Forts de Latour sports a deep garnet core. The nose is very well defined, very graceful, very well defined, not as opulent as previous vintage, but imbued with a sense of natural clarity and pellucidity. The palate is medium-bodied with real intensity and focus of fruit, much more minerality coming through than in previous vintages. Lovely, cedar infused finish with just a hint of tobacco. A much more graceful Les Fort de Latour. Very alluring. Tasted March 2010.

Score: 91 - 93

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 30 March 2010

Possibly the best second wine ever made at Latour (and I love how the 1982 is drinking at age 30), the 2009 Les Forts de Latour is composed of two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot blended with a tiny dollop of Petit Verdot, and finished at 13.5% alcohol. Juicy notes of creme de cassis, licorice, camphor, smoke and crushed rocks are followed by a rich, unctuously textured, thick, juicy, exceptionally pure, long wine. This beauty will be at its finest in several years and should keep for three decades. Proprietor Francois Pinault and his director, Frederic Engerer, have pulled out all the stops to produce one of the most monumental Latour’s ever made.

Score: 95

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2012-2042 01 March 2012

Perhaps the finest example ever made (including the extraordinary 1982) of Les Forts de Latour, the 2009 (61.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32.3% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot) is nearly as potent as the Pauillac at 13.5% alcohol. An opaque purple color is followed by notes of black fruits, crushed rocks, spring flowers, and hints of blackberries and smoke. Prodigiously rich and thick with an amazingly long finish of 50 seconds, this astonishing second wine will undoubtedly put on weight before bottling, and should last for 25-30 years.

Score: 93 - 95

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2010-40 01 April 2010

The aromas are so floral, with currants and blueberries as well. Succulent. Full and very balanced, with super velvety tannins and a long and lovely finish. Frederic Engerer, president of Latour, uses the word 'succulent' to describe it. He’s right. I like the word gorgeous as well. Try in 2018, but hard not to drink.

Score: 95

James Suckling, - Maturity: 2018+ 15 February 2012

Violet and mineral, with hints of blackberry and blueberry on the nose. Full-bodied, with superreserved and refined tannins, yet dense and very impressive. Long and racy. Lasts for minutes. Second wine of Latour.

Score: 92 - 95

James Suckling, Wine Spectator 01 April 2010

Toasty and rich nose. Very plush and velvety - much more so than usual. Rich and velvety - such an amazing texture yet with Les Fort’s solidity. Very firm backbone. Explosive. But it will need quite a time to come round. Very fine and deep. Hint of oyster shells. Lifted. Wonderful texture. Very tight and tense. Dry finish.

Score: 18

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2020-2035 07 April 2010

Black red, great fragrance and precision on the nose, great depth of fruit and superb vineyard expression, ripeness, energy and grip over perfect tannins, very good indeed. Drink 2015-25.

Score: 18

Decanter, Decanter.com Maturity: 2015-2025 01 April 2010

Les Forts is not a typical second wine as it is made from a separate vineyard plot containing old vines as well as younger vines and deselected vats from Latour. Consistently one of if not the best second label of Bordeaux. Very subtle nose of fresh blackberries, mocha and cream. In the mouth layers of accessible blueberry and dark fruit and minerals. Super-smooth and very dense. Superb wine.

Score: 92 - 95

Albany Vintners, - 01 April 2010