Château Latour 2019

Characteristics and tasting advice for Château Latour 2019

Tasting

Appearance

The wine reveals a deep garnet-purple color of remarkable intensity, reflecting the exceptional concentration of the vintage.

Nose

Initially discreet and restrained, characteristic of great Latour wines in their youth, the bouquet gradually opens with aeration to reveal a complex and multidimensional aromatic palette. Dominant aromas showcase remarkably pure ripe black fruits, notably blackcurrant and plum, accompanied by notes of crisp black cherry and licorice. With aeration, more complex nuances emerge: graphite, tobacco, cedarwood, and smoke. Pencil lead notes add a delicate minerality that elegantly contrasts with the richness of the fruit.

Palate

The attack is marked by a seductive softness of fruit, followed by a flavor explosion brimming with ripe red and black fruit notes. The palate unfolds with a complete and harmonious structure where vibrant black fruits express themselves alongside layers of exotic spices, framed by superb, ripe, and finely grained tannins. The velvety and balanced texture is accompanied by a persistent freshness that brings a distinctive vibrancy throughout the tasting. The finish lingers with a powerful burst of pure black fruit and persistent mineral sparks.

Food and wine pairings

Château Latour 2019 pairs beautifully with grilled red meats, particularly rib steak with porcini mushrooms and entrecôte. Game, especially roast venison, doe, and wildfowl, finds an ideal companion in this wine. Lamb in its various forms also makes a harmonious pairing: roast leg of lamb, navarin, or lamb stew. For more refined pairings, tournedos with truffle butter or rich sauced dishes allow the wine’s many aromatic dimensions to be fully explored.

Serving and cellaring

Château Latour 2019 should be served at a temperature of 17–18°C. Decanting for at least two hours before tasting is highly recommended to allow the wine to open and release its many aromatic dimensions. Although already remarkable today, this wine will benefit from significant aging. The ideal drinking window extends approximately from 2030 to 2045, a period during which the tannins will have fully integrated and the wine will have reached its peak complexity.

A timelessly outstanding Premier Grand Cru Classé from Pauillac

The estate

Château Latour boasts one of the oldest histories in the Bordeaux vineyard, with archives dating back to 1331. Classified as a Premier Grand Cru in 1855, the estate now covers 96.5 hectares of vines, including 47 hectares surrounding the château, known as the Enclos, reserved for the production of the Grand Vin. Since 1993, the property has belonged to François Pinault via the holding company Artémis. Under the leadership of Frédéric Engerer, managing director since 1998, and Hélène Génin, technical director since 2007, the estate continues its uninterrupted pursuit of excellence. In 2018, Château Latour became the first of the Premiers Grands Crus Classés to have its entire vineyard certified organic, with part of it cultivated according to biodynamic principles.

The vineyard

The Château Latour vineyard is located in the heart of the Médoc wine region, within the Pauillac appellation, approximately 50 kilometers northwest of Bordeaux. The heart of the terroir, the Enclos, overlooks the Gironde estuary at a distance of 300 meters, benefiting from a dual oceanic and estuarine climate influence that moderates climatic extremes. The vineyard rests on gravelly rises that stand 12 to 16 meters above the estuary, with an exceptional combination of gravel layers on the surface and clay subsoils. The vine root systems, particularly those of the old vines, reach depths of up to 3 meters. The Enclos is divided into two main soil families: clay-gravel in the center and gravelly sand around the edges. The vineyard has been fully drained since the 19th century.

The vintage

The 2019 vintage benefited from favorable climatic conditions that allowed optimal grape ripening. This vintage is considered a great year for this iconic estate, having received perfect 100-point scores from Lisa Perrotti-Brown and Georgina Hindle of Decanter, as well as a three-star “Coup de Cœur” distinction from the Guide Hachette 2023.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes for Château Latour 2019 are harvested and sorted by hand, then transported in crates with a maximum capacity of 8 kilograms. The harvest is received on the first floor of the winery with meticulous sorting in two successive stages. The vat room, fully renovated in 2001, consists of more than 80 stainless steel vats whose varying sizes allow grapes of homogeneous profiles to be vinified together. The harvest is destemmed and crushed, then transferred to fermentation vats according to grape variety, vine age, and soil characteristics. The young wine remains in temperature-controlled vats for approximately three weeks. After run-off, a second malolactic fermentation takes place. The wine is then aged in barrels for an additional 10 to 13 months in second-year cellars.

Grape varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon (92.5%)
Merlot (7.5%)