Château Latour has revealed its annual March releases will feature the 2016 vintage of its grand vin, 2019 vintage of second label, Les Forts de Latour, and 2020 vintage of its third label, Pauillac de Latour.
The trio is among the strongest line-ups since Latour withdrew from the En Primeur system in 2012, offering collectors and consumers an opportunity to acquire these wines with pristine provenance.
This strategic release aligns with the estate’s philosophy of offering wines only when they are deemed ready to drink.
Scroll down for scores and notes on Château Latour 2016 and other up-coming releases
A vintage of distinction: Latour 2016
The 2016 vintage is a benchmark for Bordeaux, widely considered one of the finest of the century. A blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot, Latour’s grand vin 2016 exhibits remarkable structure, purity, and longevity, resulting in a 100-point score.
While this one isn’t quite ready to drink, with its firm structure still on show, it is a monumental wine with great promise for a long life ahead.
The 2016 vintage saw extreme weather, with the wettest first half in 20 years followed by one of the hottest and driest second halves in 16 years.
Heavy winter rains and a cool spring led to a uniform fruit set, while intense summer heat and drought stressed the vines until timely September rain provided relief ensuring slow ripening and excellent phenolic maturity.
This allowed for an ideal harvest at Latour from 22nd September to 19th October.
Les Forts de Latour 2019: Organic certification
The 2019 Les Forts de Latour, alongside the 2020 Pauillac de Latour, is one of the first wines from the estate to be fully certified organic, reflecting the château’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and biodynamic principles.
Since 2015, the entire 96.5 hectare vineyard has been managed organically, achieving official certification in 2018. Additionally, biodynamic preparations are applied to the historic 47ha L’Enclos, and select external plots, focusing on stimulating biodiversity and strengthening the vines’ natural defences.
For several years Latour has used horses for ploughing in order to minimise soil compaction and uses satellite imagery and vine vigour sensors to assess micro-terroir differences across its plots some of which are spliced with blue clay underneath gravel.
The 2019 vintage began with a wet and cold January, followed by a warm February that led to an early and even bud break in late March. A stormy, cold April slowed vine growth, but a hot spell in early June ensured successful flowering.
From mid-June, hot and dry conditions caused hydric stress in some plots, though 27mm of late-July rain helped restart ripening. Ideal conditions persisted until mid-September, ensuring healthy grapes for harvest, which ran from 13 September to 5 October.
On the palate, Les Forts de Latour 2019 is fully textured with a succulent red fruit mid palate and a core of crushed stone and iron touches. ‘The 2019 is tasting beautifully right now,’ said Latour’s technical director Hélène Génin during this tasting.
Pauillac de Latour 2020: the gateway to Latour
The Pauillac de Latour 2020 is the estate’s third wine offering an introduction to the range. The vintage was marked by a wet spring and a hot, dry summer with timely August rains ensuring balanced ripening, leading to a small but concentrated harvest of high-quality grapes.
This release will appeal to consumers seeking an approachable expression of Latour’s winemaking style.
‘We carefully considered whether to release the 2021 before the 2020,’ said Génin. ‘It was possible, but we felt 2020 was ready first. We also like to maintain one year between our second and third wines for consistency.’
Market reception and consumer expectations
Latour’s approach of back vintage releases has long been established. The grand vin 2016 is expected to be in particularly high demand, given its status as one of the best vintages in recent memory.
Les Forts de Latour 2019 offers a more accessible yet still age-worthy alternative, while Pauillac de Latour 2020 serves as a solid entry point to the estate’s wines.
Génin acknowledged that the economic climate isn’t ideal at the moment but says the release is ‘a good message to the market’.
‘We would have liked to wait for better market conditions, but we couldn’t delay further. We won’t sell at a price we could have imagined [a few years ago] but we hope the market will react well’.
She also said the estate still has ‘enough bottles’ of both the grand vin and second wine left for a further, albeit smaller, release at some point in the future.
Looking ahead, Latour will continue its archive releases with Latour 2012 this September (last year’s release was the 2009) and will likely choose Pauillac 2021, Les Forts 2020 and grand vin 2018 for next year’s March release.
Château Latour: Spring releases
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