Chateau Latour 1er Cru 1996

Falstaff: Kräftiges Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Schwarzbeerige Fruchtnuancen, etwas Lakritze und Edelholz, dezent nach Kräutern und reifen Kirschen. Am Gaumen elegant, zeigt gute Würze und feine Tannine, angenehme Extraktsüße und ein anhaltendes tabakiges Finale, dezente rotbeerige Anklänge im Rückgeschmack, sehr gute Länge. Ein Latour, der immer besser auf Touren kommt, ohne sich mit der Komplexität der ganz großen Jahre messen zu müssen. Tolle Flasche. 97/100 (2019)

Jancis Robinson: Beautifully ornate nose with equal parts stalk, leaf, herb and black fruit. Freshly balanced palate with delicacy and refreshment, and surprising elegance for Pauillac from a big vintage. Wonderful complexity on the finish, earthy and open and meaty on the length. 18/20 (2018)

Paker: From my cellar, the 1996 Latour is still a very youthful, tightly wound wine, unfurling in the glass with notions of blackcurrants, loamy soil, cigar wrapper and English walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's built around by ripe, increasingly melting tannins and a bright spine of acidity, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. Given this Latour's ruby-black hue and impeccable structure, it still has a long future ahead of it. Today, it really begins to expatiate after four hours in a decanter. 95+/100 (2022)

Decanter: Inky black even at 25 years old. A hugely impressive wine, with plenty of chewy tannins still in play, ripples of cassis, bilberry and blackberry fruits, set against olive paste, charcoal and eucalyptus. Things have softened around the edges no question, this is still full of life with decades ahead of it, but this is a great moment to start enjoying its promise. Textbook Latour in many ways, for its austerity and power, and its serious character that is underlaid by concentrated pleasure showcasing 'the gift of sub-gravel clays'. 56% of overall production in the first wine. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 98/100 (2021)