Latour 2017 Ex-Chateau (1.5L)

99 JS / 98 WS / 98 JA / 98 WI / 97 VM / 96+ JD / 96 WE / 18+ JR

Ripe and very powerful aromas of black licorice, currants and violets. Full-bodied, dense and flavorful with lots of very new, flashy wood. Sexy and gorgeous. Round and polished tannins. Superb wine for the vintage. Try after 2028. - James Suckling

A pure, sleek, seamless beauty, featuring a crystal-clear core of cassis, cherry and damson plum fruit racing along, glistening with lilac, iron and wet pebble notes. Shows terrific spine and clarity, with well-buried grip running throughout. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

A seriously pretty Latour, not a phrase often associated with this most concentrated of wines, with real lyricism. Beautifully layered, with muscles that have a cushion of air underneath them. As during En Primeur, its sculpted character highlights the impact of biodynamic farming, but bottle ageing has seen it take on the customary concentrated layers of this Pauillac First Growth. The signature pencil lead, crayon, mint leaf and crushed rocks are here in abundance, along with cassis and bilberry fruit, kissed with rosebud and peony florality, and textured slate tannins that slow things down through the mid palate. A delicious wine, vibrant, balanced, decades ahead of it, even if the soft sculpting of the vintage means it will be ready to drink earlier than 2016 or 2018 on either side. First year in full organics, although not certified until 2019, and the first without Cabernet Franc in the blend. 100% new oak. No frost on the Grand Vin plots, in a year where many parts of Bordeaux were impacted, proof again of what a favoured site this is. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

A blend of 92.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.8% Merlot, and 0.1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Latour has a deep garnet-purple color. It sashays out with showy notes of warm cassis, mulberries, and Morello cherries, followed by emerging tertiary hints of unsmoked cigars, rose oil, cardamom, and star anise, with a waft of iron ore. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled and mineral-laced, featuring loads of exotic sparks and velvety tannins, finishing on a lingering anise note. Beautiful! While it's in a nice place right now, another 2 to 4 years in bottle should allow for even more of this gorgeous, emerging perfume. It will easily cellar for another 30 years beyond that. March 2024. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

The 2017 Latour, which was bottled mid-June and mid-July, has a tightly wound bouquet with black fruit, pencil lead and a strong marine influence. This is utterly compelling. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, what you may call an "athletic" Latour. There is no "fat" here, just pure black mineral-infused fruit with quintessential Pauillac notes of graphite and a touch of cedar on the persistent finish. Superb. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

Based on 92.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.8 % Merlot, and a splash of Petite Verdot, the 2017 Chateau Latour spent 16 months in new barrels and hit 13.3% natural alcohol with a pH 3.7 and an IPT of 66. It's a classic, ageworthy Latour offering a deep purple/ruby hue, textbook Latour graphite, lead pencil, minerality, and cassis-driven aromatics, building tannins, and a beautiful sense of power married to elegance. Flawlessly balanced, medium to full-bodied, and with the class that this estate is known for, hide bottles for 7-8 years and enjoy over the following 3-4 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

This wine's tannins are hugely rich and concentrated. They give what is also a fruity wine power, density and shape. Don't forget the fruits though, because they will be a powerhouse of richness as they mature. Drink this wine from 2024. - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Subtle and fragrant nose with wonderfully delineated black fruit and savoury spice. The impression is savoury yet youthful. Intense drive and focus is immediate on the palate. There is such energy and vibrancy yet the cassis fruit at the core remains ripe and rich. Mouth-coating tannins would detract from this refinement if it weren’t for their ripe and fine-grained nature. A remarkable feat in this vintage to find such ripeness and structure without excess. Harmonious and long. (TP) - Jancis Robinson