1959 | Château Latour | Pauillac

Detailed Description

The bouquet is stunning: black cherries, blackberry, freshly tilled earth, cedar and mint, pure and captivating. The palate is still unerringly youthful with vibrant black fruit, fabulous purity and multi-layered black fruit laced with sea salt and just a touch of liquorice towards the never-ending finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Dark garnet with an amber edge, the 1959 Latour reveals a touch of volatile acidity in the nose, along with aromas of melted caramel, tobacco, and jammy red and black fruits. As the wine sat in the glass, notes of minerals, coffee, spice, and underbrush emerged. There is still copious tannin in the finish (I am not sure it will ever be fully resolved), but this sumptuous, complex, fragrant, super-rich Latour cuts a broad swath across the palate.

• Wine Spectator: Superb, but I have had an even better bottle of this wine; usually it’s worth two points more. Equal in quality to the perfect 1961. Thick and rich, with berry, cherry and tobacco character, it shows layers of ripe fruit and velvety tannins that go on and on at the finish. Exciting wine.

Producer Information

Château Latour is one of Bordeaux’s – and the world’s – most famous wine producers. It is situated in the southeast corner of the Pauillac commune on the border of Saint-Julien, in the Médoc 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 Château Latour history, classified as Premier Grand Cru in the 1855 classification, started in the 14th century when they built a fortified tower during the One Hundred Years War. Until the end of the 16th century, Latour was a co-lordship whose co-owners received rent from farmers who cultivated lands, some of which were already dedicated to the culture of the vines. Then, in the 18th century, the winegrowing saga speeded up when the marquis Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, the “Prince of the vines”, also owner of Château Calon Ségur and Lafite, became the owner of the estate. Since 1993, François Pinault and the Artémis group have been the majority owner (93%) and 7% has belonged to the Ségur family’s heirs.