Château Latour 2016, Pauillac, 100 Points - Pre-Order

IN BOND

PRE-ORDER

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Estimated price £2,950 - £3,250 per 6 bottle case (In Bond)

“The 2016 can be uttered in the same breath as the 1900, 1924, 1959, 1961, 1982 and 2010. Magnificent.”
Neal Martin

Appellation - Pauillac

Owner - Francois Pinault

TASTING NOTES

I am dreaming as I smell this wine, perfectly ripe cabernet sauvignon with currants, tobacco and fresh mint. Orange blossoms too. This amazing nose is so complex. Medium- to full-bodied, this has has perfectly integrated tannins that you don't feel but know are there, elevating the wine to another level. It's very drinkable because of its stellar balance, yet the tannic tension gives it energy and seamless texture. A benchmark Latour that reminds me of the 1982 in many ways. Drink or hold.
100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2025

The 2016 Latour is a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gives nothing away for the first few moments of swirling, then begins to offer suggestions of freshly crushed blackcurrants and blackberries, followed by suggestions of lilacs, charcoal, iron ore, and black truffles, plus wafts of fragrant soil and garrigue. The medium-bodied palate is like an atomic bomb waiting to go off, taut with tightly wound black fruits and mineral layers, supported by firm, super-ripe, grainy tannins, finishing on an epically persistent ferrous note.
100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

Impressively precise and muscular, no question that this needs longer in the bottle before really being ready to drink, but everything is in place for decades of pleasure. Smart timing of this release, a vintage that underlines without question just why Latour is so revered, and why there is a clear logic to holding it back at the estate for almost a decade, allowing the first part of its ageing cycle to take place under fully controlled conditions. Very much a classic Pauillac, with confidence and character, waves of mint leaf, coffee bean, cola, crushed rocks, crayon and liqourice root, opening up to show fragrant nuances of rose petals and peony. 100% new oak for ageing. Hélène Genin technical director, Eric Boissenot consultant, and at this point Latour was farming entirely organically and biodynamically, with organic certification coming in 2018. Hold +3 years or carafe 5 hours
100
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, February 2024

Château Latour’s 2016 grand vin is a knockout—perfectly encapsulating the estate’s paradoxical signature of at once possessing jaw-dropping power with hauntingly gorgeous fragrance and finesse: Bordeaux’s iron fist in a velvet glove. Very deep purple-black in color, the nose of the 2016 Latour is quite closed to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, red roses and violets with Indian spices, blueberry compote, blackcurrant cordial and cigar box plus wafts of pencil lead and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the mid-palate explodes with densely packed black fruits and tons of earth, mineral and spice accents, with a super ripe, fine-grained frame and seamless freshness, finishing very long and seductively perfumed. Drink 2025 - 2070.
100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim), November 2018

The 2016 Latour is a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot (no Cabernet Franc of Petit Verdot this year). The IPT is 83 and the alcohol a modest 13.5%. It represents 36% of the total production of the estate. Wow... this is some nose. It contains brilliant delineation and an unbridled sense of mineralité and terroir expression. It is not powerful per se, quite succinct and perhaps more detailed than the 2005 Latour that I tasted alongside. The palate is medium-bodied and incredibly precise. You are overcome with the sense of a wine running like clockwork, like a Swiss watch--think Piaget. It is bestowed with astonishing length and yet there is a sense of weightlessness and precision that beckons you back for another sip. It is simply one of the best examples of Château Latour that I have tasted from barrel over the 20 years that I have been tasting at this address. Drink 2028 - 2070.
98/100
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (230), April 2017