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Les Forts de Latour 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon

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Label

Tasting Notes

Aromas of iron, rust and hot stones with currants and dark berries follow through to a full body, firm and ultra-silky tannins and a long and polished finish. Racy and driven. Drink in 2022.

95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

Made from 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35.6% Merlot, 0.9% Petit Verdot, and 0.5% Cabernet France, the 2015 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet in color. It springs with bold notions of warm cassis, stewed plums, and boysenberry preserves, leading to wafts of charcuterie, Indian spices, and fragrant earth. The medium-bodied palate is both confident and elegant with expressive black fruits and spicy layers plus a plush, very fine-grained texture, finishing with a refreshing lift.

94
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, November 2022

Deep polished crimson. High toned and super-classy on the nose. More zip and energy than the Pauillac de Ch Latour 2016. Very mineral and sumptuous. What's not to like? It has such breadth and ripeness that you could certainly drink it tonight. There's an attractive iron-fist-in-a-velvet-glove quality about it. Positively throbs with energy. A little saline quality on the end. Another wine with an admirably persistent finish. All that stony minerality plus a bit more flesh than usual. Great stuff! I don't see any of the green notes I detected at the Southwold tasting two years ago. Though the tannins on the end are still very slightly drying. 13%
Drink 2021 – 2040

17+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2021

Brooding black fruits the nose has concentrated depth the palate a rich mix of black cherry and cassis. Although the tannins are firm there is mid sweetness suppleness and flesh the richness of the fruit balanced by bramble freshness. Bright and light at the back there is purity of flavour with sweeter rich fruit giving depth and richness on the finish.

90/93
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

Showing much more power and concentration than the 2014 at this stage, Latour’s second
wine is quite closed at the moment: dense, brooding and compact with excellent underlying
fruit and acidity. It just needs time to come together. Drink: 2022-32

93
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016

This is a tight, sour Les Forts with stunning tension between the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Merlot, augmented by a
dusting of spice coming from the Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot. The tannins are very focussed and sharp and this
leads me to believe that this will be a particularly long-lived Les Forts but, like its Pauillac third wine sibling, it is more red
than black. The oak is again exotic and perfumed and the length is considerable, but it is more related to its diminutive
sibling rather than its noble father.

17.5+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

The 2015 Les Forts de Latour is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35.6% Merlot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.9% Petit Verdot, representing 40% of the production. It has a very succinct bouquet, quite understated for Les Forts de Latour with a marine influence filtering through the dark plum and briary fruit. The palate is medium-bodied and beautifully balanced, not huge depth here but harmonious and sensual, fanning out gently with graphite-tinged black fruit that linger long in the mouth. This is a classy Les Forts de Latour that will age gracefully over 20 years or more. Drink 2022-2045

92/94
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

Very fruity and lifted with bright and floral aromas and flavors. Full and velvety. Gorgeous finish. Very pure and focused. Pretty Les Forts.

93/94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

Composed of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35.6% Merlot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.9% Petit Verdot, the 2015 Les Forts de Latour needs a fair bit of air to unlock a profound, powerhouse nose of blackcurrant cordial, boysenberries, plum preserves and dark chocolate, with suggestions of Chinese five spice, clove oil, violets and crushed rocks. The palate packs an absolute flavor wallop, bursting with rich, ripe black fruits and loads of spicy sparks, while framed by beautifully plush tannins, finishing long and minerally. Not at all heavy, on the contrary, the Les Forts is both expansive AND tantalizingly refreshing. In terms of evolution, it has barely budged since I last tasted it in 2017. While it's drinking very well right now, it easily has a good 20 years of cellaring ahead, maybe more. Impressive.

94
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2021), March 2021

Tasted blind. Crimson. Sweet and rather flashy, but the tannins are a bit raw. Dusty and edgy. Green notes.
Drink 2025-2040

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

They are picking these grapes earlier nowadays.
Dark crimson. Very sumptuous nose. Massive sweetness on the front palate and then Pauillac stoniness. A real charmer. Lots of vigour and punch. Complete and very dry. Needs lots of time.
Drink 2025-2040

17+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.