1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour
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Tasting notes
1997 was pretty much a textbook great vintage for Napa Cabernet with good yields. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged for 22 months in 100% new oak (55% French and 45% American), the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour gives a deep garnet-brick color and quite a meaty nose with notions of chargrill and beef drippings over a core of warm cassis, blackberry pie and candied violets plus wafts of Chinese five spice and dried Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied with 13.8% alcohol, it has a firm, chewy texture and just enough freshness, delivering a great concentration of savory fruit, finishing long and earthy. In a maturity sweet-spot at the moment, now is a good time to drink this vintage, but there’s certainly no rush. 17,000 cases were made.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Dark red with ruby tones. Aromas of dark fruits, licorice, exotic spices and herbs, plus a sexy element of oak char. Silky, adamantly dry and classic, in a distinctly claret-like style. Can't quite match the 1990 for concentration or thickness, but delivers enticing subtle sweetness and lovely pliancy to its flavors of black cherry, cassis, mint and black pepper. Perhaps in part due to the modest alcohol, this wine boasts noteworthy aromatic complexity in the mouth. Broad, dusty tannins saturate the sides of the mouth. Still a tad youthfully aggressive on the end, conveying an impression of medicinal reserve. There's certainly no rush to open this wine. (13.8% alcohol; 3.78 pH; 5.5 g/l acidity; aged for 22 months in 55% French and 45% American oak, 63% new)
(13.5% alcohol): Bright medium ruby; slightly pale at the rim, like the Clone 4 version. Some roasted character to the black cherry and dark berry fruits, plus a hint of incipient maderization. Much finer-grained than the Clone 4, with the roasted quality carrying through in the mouth along with a savory element and a bit more give. Only the wine's port-like note tempered my enthusiasm. Finishes with big, tongue-dusting tannins. (A second bottle was at once more green and even more evolved.)
Saturated ruby. Perfumed aromas of dark berries and exotic spices, plus a whiff of apple; showed a sweet bourbon note with aeration. Supple flavors of redcurrant and black cherry, along with a faint raisiny quality. Finishes with light tannins, a strong bourbon flavor and some dryness from the oak. Too oaky for this taster.
About the producer
Beaulieu Vineyard remains one of the most historically important wineries in Napa Valley. It is it one of the longest continuous running wineries in the region, as one of the few that kept operating throughout Prohibition.