Les Forts De Latour 2017 Ex-Chateau (750ML)

95 WI / 95 JS / 94 VM / 94 WE / 93 JA / 93 WS / 93 JD

The 2017 Les Forts de Latour is composed of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 0.8% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet in color, it comes galloping out with bold notions of warm cassis, blackberry pie, and dried roses, plus suggestions of crushed rocks, wild sage, and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is completely filled with delicate waves of bright, refreshing black and red berry layers, supported by super-ripe, super-fine tannins, finishing long and perfumed. This is stunning! -Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

Juicy and spicy with fresh tobacco, redcurrants and crushed stone character. Medium to full body. Medium velvety tannins and a delicious finish. Will age beautifully as well. Better after 2026. - James Suckling

The 2017 Les Forts de Latour has a stupendous bouquet with blackberry, bilberry and oyster shell aromas, very well defined and focused and to be honest, much more intense than I was expecting. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, so elegant and poised with delicate touches of graphite and cracked black pepper towards the pixelated finish. What an outstanding, overperforming Les Forts de Latour. -- Neal Martin, Vinous Media

This bold, structured wine is packed with blackberry fruits and ripe tannins. Freshness and structure from the Cabernet Sauvignon are very present, giving a crisp edge to the solid backbone. This is a wine for aging. Don't drink before 2023. - RV, Wine Enthusiast

A floral curl on the first nose, this is an attractive and sappy Forts de Latour, with a fine, elegant, almost chalky aspect to the tannins. Thoroughly charming raspberry and blackberry fruit, fresh earth, cocoa power and slate, with a mouthwatering finish. An elegant feel to this, more evolved than in bigger vintages at the six year stage although still with clear architecture to the tannins. As you sit with it you start to realise just how carefully it is gripping on through the palate, and how fine a wine it is. As with many in Pauillac, Latour found the September rains of 2017 challenging, and two of the plots normally used for the main estate wine are in Forts this year. 6.7% press wine. Hélène Genin techincal director, harvest September 11 to October 4. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Bright and fresh, featuring floral, cassis and plum aromas and flavors allied to a sleek, iron-tinged frame. Racy tension through the finish lets the fruit play out while the minerality blossoms. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038. - JM, Wine Spectator

A step up, the 2017 Les Forts De Latour includes more Cabernet Sauvignon and is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and a splash of Cabernet Franc. Creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, damp earth, and a touch of cedar pencil all emerge from the glass, and it's beautifully textured and medium to full-bodied, with terrific purity and a great finish. While it's a second wine, I suspect it will evolve for 20-30 years. - Jeb Dunnuck