Chateau Latour is...

Simply the single best Estate/ Chateau/ Domaine/ Producer/ Bottega/ etc. for Cabernet Sauvignon based wines in the world. Period. Tonight's tasting/ dinner did nothing but add to the mystique that is Chateau Latour. I will add that all bottles came directly from the Chateau, and all were double decanted at least 1 hour (most had 2-3 hours under their belts, and as many as 6 when last tasted).

First, the "second" wine (which most Chateau - even classified growths - would be proud to call their grand vin) . The 2003 Les Forts de Latour was jammy, ripe and powerful. Very woody... Excellent length, but was this really Chateau Latour, or a California Cabernet? The 2000 Les Forts de Latour was pretty - so elegant, long in the mouth, with pretty ripe blackcurrants, plums, cherries. Just hints of cedar and cigar box. So sweet and seductive. Beautiful. The 1996 Les Forts de Latour was starting to really show signs of maturity. While it still has years (decades?) left, this wine was beautiful, and is perfect to start drinking now. Classic Pauillac, and an excellent wine! The 1990 Les Forts de Latour was so pretty and elegant. Ripe, rich tannins with cedar, blackcurrant, stoniness. A wonderful bottle and a great taste of things to come.

On to the Grand Vin.... The 2003 Chateau Latour was... well, how can I put this nicely??? Not my cup of tea? Actually, was more like a cup of Mocha Coffee... so toasty with mocha, chocolate, black ripe plums, blackcurrants, and stewed sweet cherries. While still very much Bordeaux, there is no terroir in this wine right now - just oak, and caramel. Nice to taste, but I won't be buying any. The 2002 Chateau Latour was a great suprise. Simply astounding, this is a classic bottling of Chateau Latour. Elegant, but powerful. Grace with beauty. Perfect balance amd a long, lingering finish. RP and WS scored this one too low. Sweet, with gravel, cherries, clove, and round, sweet tannins. So pretty - I can't wait to try it again in 15 years or so. The 2001 Chateau Latour was closed, tannic, and not terribly pleasant to drink right now. It will come around, and perhaps be like the 1999, but not yet. The 1999 Chateau Latour was showing cedar, with soft, round ripe tannins. The only thing this is missing is a mid-palate, and it would go from good to great. But, alas... we all need wine to drink now while out other bottles mature, right? The 99 is it. On to the "stars" of the night... Up until now, I've not discussed bottle variation (because there was none), nor the number of bottles tasted (approximately 3 of each of the above wines.) From here one out, I'll discuss bottles separately as needed. The 1990 Chateau Latour came in 4 forms - corked, elegant and powerful, more elegant and more powerful, and lastly - perfection. One corked (really bad) bottle isn't so bad. The 2nd bottle opened was so pretty... very sweet, with just hints of cedar and cigar box just starting to show through the plummy and cherries. The 3rd bottle was astounding, and would have been rated as the best bottle of 1990 Latour I've ever had... if it weren't for the 4th bottle (the bottle that would have not been opened had the first not been corked... funny how that works... you'll see that come up again later). The 4th bottle was tasted roughly 4 times over 6 hours and all it did was open more and more and more... this wine is a monster - incredibly powerful with black fruits, cedar, cigar box, round tannins, and a long, long sweet finish. This is what wine is all about. Simply stunning. I'm speachless. Ah well, the 1983 Chateau Latour (Magnums) was tasted several times from 3 different magnums, and did not show significant bottle variation. It's a pretty wine, with mature notes of cedar, black currants, hints of black pepper, clove, turned black earth, and truffles. Excellent. I'll skip the 1982 for now... the 1971 Chateau Latour (Magnums) was tasted many times from 3 magnums (one not quite right so it was rejected) and one 750ml. The The first Magnum was questionable. The 2nd was beautiful - very mature, not long on fruit, This is a wine that needs to be drunk soon. The 3rd Magnum was excellent. While not the 1983, and certainly not the 1990, it drove it's point home. A very nice, mature wine from a decent vintage - still very much Chateau Latour. A hint of anise on this last magnum. The 750 was a little overdone and should have been consumed long ago.... The 1982 Chateau Latour, one of the legends of wine history, was amazing. Brought tears to my eyes. Tasted approximately 9 times from 5 different bottles (750ml). Four of the bottles were remarkably similar - not too much bottle variation. Still way, way, way too young - this wine is so sexy and seductive. You don't want to stare, but you can't help it. Wow. Cedary with tobacco, anise, leather, black currants, and sweet cherries. Incredible length, amazing mouthfeel. These four bottles were awesome. Then there was bottle number 5 (actually bottle number 4, in the order I opened them). This bottle was exceptionally youthful -with far more fruit than mature spices - this is the bottle I would put in my cellar. This was a rockstar. So powerful, so much tannin, so much fruit... so balanced. This is the modern Bordeaux all others should judge their own wines by. Simply a perfect wine. As if all of that wasn't enough, it was on to the 1966 Chateau Latour (magnums). Tasted from 4 magnums (2 being slightly off). Going back to the way the 1990 was... the first was off, the second outstanding, the third off, and the fourth... well, I'll get to that. This wine is the anti-1961. Not terribly flamboyant - this wine is exactly what Chateau Latour is all about. This wine is very, very young - as bottles 2 and 4 show. Bottle 2 was rich in color (still showing purple in the center), and rich in the mouth. Lots of cedar, grass, hints of herbs, and clove. Sweet cherries, black currants and still showing hints of plums! An excellent, elegant bottle. Bottle #4 was simply without words. Quite possibly the best Bordeaux I've ever tasted, this bottle was a freakshow. Still purple, with the same general notes as bottle #2 - but all of them stonger, deeper. Quite a thrill to open this bottle and immediately know that this was it. The "one". The bottle that makes it all come together. The last bottle opened of the night, actually. This is still a baby as well. While pure cedar, black fruits, and spice - this wine is showing youthful tannins, vibrancy only matched by the 1982 & 1990, and a clarity and purity that 99.99% of the wines in the world don't even come close to. When you drink or taste Chateau Latour - you know it's Chateau Latour. THIS is what Chateau Latour is all about... You can't always say that about the other Chateau.... What an amazing evening. The chance to try all of these stunning bottles side by side - and so many of them... Makes it a shame we spit alot of it out... (notice I said alot... not most or all). Ah, but tomorrow at 3, I will sit down and taste through several of these wines again, with a few different ones thrown in!