Wine Review – 2005 Château Latour

An iconic wine from a legendary producer (what else is there to say?)

Bottle Presentation

An instantly recognizable label featuring Château Latour’s iconic tour. Despite the muted colours, this would stand out on any shelf in any cellar.

Appearance

Deep garnet, with a slight haze

Nose

Clean, medium-plus nose, with black currant, blackberry, dry wood, chocolate, ink, leather, vanilla, graphite, violets, and a hint of barnyard. Given the emerging tertiary notes, we’d consider this a developing wine.

Palate

Dry, medium-plus bodied, medium-plus acidity, medium-plus tannins, and medium, well-integrated alcohol. Pronounced flavours of blackberry, cassis, blackberry, graphite, wet stone, green tomatoes, eucalyptus, bay leaf, black tea, and mint.

Finish

A very long, satisfying finish with sour dark fruit, black tea, and mint.

Overall Impressions

We’ve been cellaring this iconic offering for several years, and we finally decided to take the proverbial plunge. We paired this Bordeaux blend with grilled steak, and it more than held its own. Complex, intense, balanced, and long, we get why some of our winemaking friends would choose this wine above all others. We also understand how some experts have not been able to find a single fault with this wine (i.e., it has received ratings of 100/100 by more than one acclaimed reviewer). In our estimation, this is an outstanding wine, as one would expect. It is drinking beautifully now, though you could easily cellar it for several years.

Interestingly, one of us had the privilege to drink a 1989 Château Latour a few years back. At the time, the 1989 offering was about the same age as the current offering. It was the bottle that got us into wine in the first place. We finally understood what all the hype was about: every sip was velvety and brought out different notes. We were blown away that a wine could do this. It had developed to the point where, though there was still some dark fruit, most notes were tertiary, and yet it tasted amazing. It remains one of the most memorable wine moments we’ve had.

Ratings

Overall Rating: 94/10

E-Wine rating: 5/5. It is hard to find fault with this exceptional wine. If we had the means, we’d gladly purchase a case, especially to see (experiment and experience) how it develops over time.

Value: 4/5. The price tag might come with some “sticker shock,” but this is, after all, one of the world’s most iconic wines. We could also see how difficult it can be to put a “price” on the experience of drinking a Château Latour.