Château Latour 1975

MB *** (9/1998): Well over two dozen notes. Positively opaque a year after the harvest. Immense complexity compared with the other '75s tasted in the late 1970s, but it simmered down in depth though not youthfulness, with lovely middle palate. Tannic, but well clad and the best balanced just beyond its tenth anniversary. Eight fairly consistent notes over the last decade: 'delicious'. Better than the '78 (in 1990), though 'too tannic, too astringent' at a tasting in 1995. Better with food- it positively needs food. Certainly helped cope with the fillet of lamb at a Vintners' Company Installation Dinner (1997). Last noted at John Jenkins' BOrdeaux Club dinner. His wife is a wonderful cook and her duck needed no underpinning. The Latour was fragrant, a bit leathery but with good fruit and flavour. Still tannic of course. Not only a keeper but might well have more to offer. WA 90 (6/2000): The dark ruby/garnet-coloured 1975 Latour offers up a dry, mineral, tobacco, stony-scented nose with red and black currants competing with cedar, spice box, and balsam wood aromas. Hard and dense in the mouth, with tough, astringent tannin, a steely constitution, plenty of concentration, but an unflattering, backward style, this youthful 1975 is capable of lasting two more decades. Will it become increasingly attenuated and hard? Anticipated maturity: now-2020.

Chateau Latour is one of the five 1er grand cru classé growths from the Bordeaux region. With 75 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau Latour is a Pauillac par excellence. It is described by wine connoisseurs and wine lovers as firm, with great tannins and very good ageing potential. Even in weaker years, Chateau Latour usually produces good, balanced red wines rich in finesse. Wine drinkers should therefore always keep Chateau Latour in mind when looking for a specific vintage wine as a birthday present. In addition, Latour is considered the most consistent wine among the Grand Cru Classé producers. The Chateau Latour estate lies close to the waters of the Gironde. It was Thomas Jefferson who honoured Chateau Latour as one of the best Bordeaux wines in the 18th century. The second wine, les Forts de Latour, is also a showpiece in its class and is not much inferior to the first wine. Especially in the outstanding years, one should switch to the Forts de Latour at Chateau Latour, it costs only a fraction of the Cru Classé and the pleasure is phenomenal. The estates at Chateau Latour were built in the early 14th century, whereby the properties were initially in English ownership. Chateau Latour probably takes its name from the fortress tower La Tour en Saint-Maubert, which was intended to serve as a place of defence for the Latour estate during the "Hundred Years' War". Unfortunately, this tower no longer exists today, but Chateau Latour built a similar, equally beautiful tower called La Tour de Saint-Lambert in 1620. The image of this tower has always been the trademark of Chateau Latour and can also be found on the label of every vintage of Chateau Latour wines. However, the Chateau Latour era would not take off until much later. In 1716, Alexandre de Ségur acquired Chateau Latour and two years later his son Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur followed him in the expansion measures by purchasing Chateau Mouton and Chateau Calon. As a result of these acquisitions, the quality of Chateau Latour rose considerably and the star of the tannin-rich Pauillac wine seemed to have risen. In 1860, the current chateau was built as the home and flagship of the owners at the time.