Latour 1989
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£580.00
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Latour 1989
HED0496
75 cl
12.5%
£580.00
Taxes included.
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Bordeaux First Growth, Château Latour, is one of the oldest wine producing properties in the appellation of Pauillac and has a history dating back to the 14th Century. Now approaching peak maturity, the 1989 is medium-bodied, open-knit and distinctly savoury in feel.
97 Jane Anson
Remains distinctly exotic, with roasted, opulent autumnal fruits, dense and velvety tannins, blackberry, baking spice, sandalwood, crayon, smoked earth, tobacco leaf. A famously hot vintage, and interesting to see that in July they dropped 50% of the berries from the young vines toi minimise water stress. There was some bottle variation with this wine in the tasting, as is typical in older wines - but of the four vintages we were trying, it was only the 1989 that showed any signs of variation. The earliest growing season since 1893, with harvest beginning on August 31 and lasting through to September 21. A significant year in the wider sense for Latour also, as in 1989 the shares changed from Pearson as majority owners to Allied Lyons, who had been minority shareholders since the 1960s but would now become the stewards of the property, only for four years it would turn out, selling in 1993 to François Pinault. 100% new oak.Jane Anson30th May 2026
93 Vinous
The 1989 Latour has an archetypal nose for the estate with black fruit, gravel and graphite notes, touches of pencil box developing with aeration, determined to put distance between itself and the Mouton-Rothschild alongside. The palate is medium-bodied and cohesive with a gentle grip. It is smooth in texture and not a complex Latour, yet it exhibits satisfying depth and feels like it could improve with continued bottle age. That said, to repeat my assertion in my last note, this quality level would not be accepted under the current regime. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at 67 Pall Mall. Neal Martin2nd July 2024
89 Jancis Robinson
This wine was tasted at a vertical tasting held in Charlotte, North Carolina several days before the Christie tasting. The Latour staff spoke far more highly of the 1989 than my experience has shown.
It possesses many characteristics that make great vintages of Bordeaux so alluring - softness, overripeness, and sweet fruit. The problem is that there are insufficient quantities of these components.
An evolved dark ruby color reveals amber at the edge. The nose offers aromas of caramel, coffee, ripe black cherry and currant fruit, cedar, and spice box. Although medium-bodied, with low acidity, the wine lacks richness in the mid-palate, and is surprisingly abrupt in the finish. It is a very fine, delicious Latour, but it is hard to believe it will attain the weight and flavor dimensions its producers suggest. Anticipated maturity: now-2020.Robert Parker26th June 2000
It possesses many characteristics that make great vintages of Bordeaux so alluring - softness, overripeness, and sweet fruit. The problem is that there are insufficient quantities of these components.
An evolved dark ruby color reveals amber at the edge. The nose offers aromas of caramel, coffee, ripe black cherry and currant fruit, cedar, and spice box. Although medium-bodied, with low acidity, the wine lacks richness in the mid-palate, and is surprisingly abrupt in the finish. It is a very fine, delicious Latour, but it is hard to believe it will attain the weight and flavor dimensions its producers suggest. Anticipated maturity: now-2020.Robert Parker26th June 2000
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Chateau Latour
A Towering First Growth
Situated on the Bordeaux's Left Bank in the appellation of Pauillac, this superb First Growth is produced from the estate's 92ha of vines, spread across 138 plots, (47 hectares of which are located in renowned 'L'Enclos'). The clay and gravel soils give superbly concentrated, textural Cabernet Sauvignon dominant reds, with Merlot and smaller percentages of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc making up the blend.
The estate also produces two further celebrated reds, Les Forts de Latour and Pauillac de Latour. Certified organic since 2018, biodynamic techniques are also used in the vineyard.
