1996 Château Latour

FRANCE / BORDEAUX / PAUILLAC
abv 12.5%
  • 100 WA
  • 96 WS
  • 95 IWC
  • 90 JR
  • Variety
    Red Bordeaux Blend
See all wines from Château Latour
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$703.25
SKU: 52801-1996

This item is available by the case only

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$703.25

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  • Wine Spectator | Rating: 96

    Class in a glass. Very racy and fine. But closed and not giving much at the moment. Delicate aromas of minerals, berries and flowers follow though to a full-bodied palate with powerful tannins. Long, silky finish.--Latour vertical.
    Author: James Suckling

  • Jancis Robinson | Rating: 18

    Dark crimson, intensely cassis and cedar. Bone dry and reserved. Not at all friendly at the moment. Lots of tannin and toughness. Pretty unyielding, although there is clearly a core of plummy fruit underneath. Relatively light for a Latour though very long.
    Author: Jancis Robinson

  • Wine Advocate | Rating: 100

    Deep garnet-black in color, the 1996 is classic Latour at its utmost. The nose offers a tantalizing array of complex notes including dried Chinese plums, toasted nuts, Indian spices and black olive tapenade over a core of dried cherries and aged meat. The palate is pure power that is stunningly balanced giving a generous level of fruit concentration perfectly offset by a high level of very finely grained tannins and seamless freshness. Possessing a finish that just goes on and on, this is as good as it gets.
    Author: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

  • International Wine Cellar | Rating: 95

    Saturated ruby-red. Dark berries, violet, licorice and a note of torrefaction. Explosive, pure flavors are almost too big for the mouth. Finishes with big, sweet tannins and expanding, exhilarating flavors of pruneaux and crystallized dark berries. Perfectly integrated oak. A great Latour.
    Author: Stephen Tanzer
    Issue: May/June 1999
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  • Self | Rating:

    Author: Warburg Alex

  • Self | Rating: 97

    Author: Warburg Allan

  • Self | Rating: 99

    Author: dave1161

  • Self | Rating: 99

    Author: winefolio

  • Self | Rating: 89

    Author: Wang Chong

  • Self | Rating:

    Drink Dates: 2015-2030
    Author: Tallydoc

  • Self | Rating: 97

    6 hour decant. Reticent. Not revealing much initially yet one can see the fabulous structure. Fruit hiding but glimpses gradually emerge from underneath the regal tannins. Slight acidity and bite but by the end of the bottle, we were clamoring for more. In 10 years this will explode.
    Author: taipanli

  • Self | Rating: 96

    Deeply colored with a nose that is just beginning to open. Intense pure Cabernet Sauvignon aromas of dark cherry fruit and cassis with raw beef, spice, mint, herbs, and some undergrowth thrown in for good measure. Very complex despite the wine?s evident youth. Thick and powerfully constituted with significant but integrated tannins and acidity. Muscular yet elegant and graceful. Beautiful stuff ? the epitome of top flight masculine Bordeaux. This bottle was more forward than I expected.
    Drink Dates: 2012-2025+
    Author: Daniel B

  • Self | Rating: 98

    Wow. Lighter than usual for Latour, but no less fine for that. Very elegant.
    Author: John Yoyodyne
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Chateau Latour is among the First Growth properties classified in the Bordeaux 1855 Classification. The estate is situated in the southern portion of Pauillac, bordering St. Julien and the Gironde estuary. Latour is considered one of the longest-lasting First Growths, reflecting its high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. The blend is typically 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The fruit is grown in vineyards with notably high levels of gravel and an ideal southeastern exposure. Latour is typified by its concentrated fruit and complexity. Young vintages are forward and jammy with multiple layers of fruit. Aromas include black-currant, cherry and prune, with a dusty bouquet of mint, leather, cedar, and tobacco. Chateau Latour can age a lifetime and should not be approached for ten to twenty years. Some of the best vintages include 1949, 1959, 1961, 1982, 1990, and 2000. Chateau Latour also produces a second wine called Les Forts de Latour and a third wine labeled simply Pauillac.

See other similar producers:Chateau Haut Brion,Chateau Margaux,Chateau Leoville Las Cases
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Located in the southwest of France, Bordeaux is the single largest fine-wine-producing region in the world, with more than 15,000 growers spread over 57 appellations and more than 700 million bottles produced annually. The region boasts a two-thousand-year winemaking history and some of the wine world's most recognized and highly sought-after names. Red Bordeaux blends comprise eighty percent of production, but dry and sweet whites are also well-known. The region is divided into the Left and Right Banks (of the Dordogne River); Cabernet Sauvignon prevails in the former and Merlot in the latter.
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White Bordeaux blends are most commonly composed of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, and come in a range of dry and sweet styles. Sémillon contributes body while Sauvignon Blanc adds high acidity, a characteristic that is particularly important in the sweet wines of Bordeaux.

Sauternes is one of the world’s most prestigious regions for sweet wine production, made possible by Sémillon’s affinity for noble rot. Wines from world-renowned Château d’Yquem are fermented and matured in new oak for up to three years and can age for decades in bottle. These wines display complex aromas of melon, honey, apricot, citrus peel, mango, and butterscotch and develop added complexity and aromas with age.

The best dry wines from this blend come from producers such as Château Haut-Brion, Château Pape Clément, and Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan and Graves. These wines are typically fermented and matured in new oak and display a full-bodied richness with concentrated nutty flavors overlaying the fruit.

Due to its freshness and flavor profile, dry white Bordeaux blends pair well with almost any white food, including all types of fish, poultry, veal, and pork. The sweet wines of Bordeaux pair well with foie gras, oysters, blue cheese, spicy food (particularly Asian cuisines), any dish with sweet notes, and of course, dessert.
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Collector Data For This Wine

  • 5721 bottles owned
  • 559 collectors
  • Average collector rating: 97
    (Out of 559 collectors)