1967 | Ch√¢teau Latour | Pauillac

Detailed Description

The bouquet on this most recent bottle was complex, classic and wide open, wafting from the glass in a fine, meaty blend of cassis, black cherries, cigar ash, gravel, black truffles, cigar smoke and a nice touch of coffee bean in the upper register.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Unquestionably the best wine produced in the Medoc in 1967, the Latour has dark ruby color with some browning at the edges, a medium- to full-bodied feel, plenty of black currant fruit, and some light, soft tannins still present. Head and shoulders above the other first-growths, this wine has the classic Latour bouquet of black walnuts, black currants, mineral scents, and cedarwood.

• John Gilman: There are a few wines from the 1967 vintage that simply transcend the growing season (P√©trus, Trotanoy and Latour immediately come to mind) and this is another vintage of Latour that used to fly below the radar and offer up outstanding drinking to those savvy enough to look for the wine. The bouquet on this most recent bottle was complex, classic and wide open, wafting from the glass in a fine, meaty blend of cassis, black cherries, cigar ash, gravel, black truffles, cigar smoke and a nice touch of coffee bean in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely suave on the attack, with excellent purity and soil signature, a fine core, melting tannins and fine length and grip on the complex and still nicely tangy finish. I have been drinking this wine since the mid-1980s with great pleasure, but it continues to cruise along without a care in the world and has many decades of life still ahead of it.

Producer Information

Ch√¢teau Latour is one of Bordeaux’s ‚Äì and the world’s ‚Äì most famous wine producers. It is situated in the southeast corner of the Pauillac commune on the border of Saint-Julien, in the M√©doc region. Rated as a First Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, it has become one of the most sought-after and expensive wine producers on the planet, and produces powerfully structured Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wines capable of lasting many decades. The site has been occupied since 1331, with a fort and garrison to guard the estuary. Several smallholdings began to grow vines, and wine from the site gained recognition from Montaigne as early as the 16th Century. The original tower no longer exists; the famous tower featured on the label was designed as a pigeon roost and built around 1620. Latour’s development as a single property came with the beginning of a long unbroken period of connected family ownership, based around the de S√©gur name, also associated with Mouton and Calon-S√©gur. This began in 1670 and lasted 290 years although, after the French Revolution, Latour was divided up and not fully reunited until 1841. The ch√¢teau has been owned by French billionaire Fran√ßois Pinault since 1993 and falls under the umbrella of his holding company, Groupe Artemis. Other notable Artemis possessions include the likes of Burgundy’s Le Clos de Tart (in Morey-Saint-Denis) and Domaine d’Eug√©nie (in Vosne-Roman√©e), Ch√¢teau-Grillet in Condrieu, and Napa Valley’s Araujo Estate. The Latour estate courted controversy in 2012 when it announced ‚Äì through long-time director Fr√©d√©ric Engerer ‚Äì that it would no longer take part in Bordeaux’s En Primeur pre-release sales campaign (an annual installment for nearly all the major names in the region). Since 2012, the estate has shown no signs of going back on this decision.