2004 Château Latour
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Tasting notes
A great moment to be drinking this Latour, at 20 years old, more ready than the 2005 right now. Black truffle, ink, cassis fruit, crushed rocks, firm tannins, still muscular, with the precision and heft that was typical of the estate in these years. Took its time to come round, now showing finesse and class, with decades ahead of it. Harvest September 23 to October 19.
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Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 2004 Latour has a comparatively simple bouquet with black cherries and touches of cassis. This does not quite articulate the terroir as well as other vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with a medicinal entry, very supple and rounded with pencil lead and notable saline elements towards the persistent finish. Menthol notes emerge with time. Excellent. (NM)
The 2004 Latour checks in as a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and a splash of Cabernet Franc, all aged in new French oak. It shows the more elegant, silky style of the vintage, yet with plenty of Latour grandeur and depth in its ripe cassis, smoky mineral, graphite, and saddle leather aromas and flavors. It’s medium to full-bodied, impressively concentrated, and has serious length, as well as another two decades of longevity, although it’s certainly drinking beautifully today.
The 2004 Latour is perhaps evolving slower than I expected, although it remains one of the finest Left Bank wines of the vintage. It has that quintessential graphite-scented bouquet intermixed with blackberry and cedar, although the liquorice note that I observed previously has receded. Again, there is wonderful definition. The palate is full-bodied but surprisingly more sultry than I expected, especially here where I was able to directly compare it with the other 2004 First Growths. It delivers the "authority" you expect from Latour, although I might be inclined just to give it another 2-3 years in bottle. Tasted September 2016.
About the producer
One of Bordeaux’s five First Growths, as classified in 1855, Ch. Latour is among the most famous addresses in Pauillac and the world. The estate is renowned for its long-ageing, powerful and structured wines.