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Pauillac de Latour 2016

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

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Label

Tasting Notes

The 2016 Pauillac de Château Latour is a compelling, sumptuous wine that shows just how magnificent the year is. How can this be a third wine? Dark and ample in the glass, Latour's Pauillac possesses tremendous breed right out of the gate. Black cherry, graphite, licorice, spice and leather all meld together in the glass. Floral overtones develop nicely with time. Only the (relatively) lighter structure suggests the Pauillac's place in the château's hierarchy. Everything else is first class all the way. The Pauillac is a blend taken from parcels outside the core holdings in the famed enclos, plus younger vines in the enclos. Drink 2022-2036

92
Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, March 2021

The 2016 Pauillac de Latour, which comes from parcels known as ‘Saint Anne’ in the southwest sector of the appellation augmented by young vines from Enclos, was picked from 22 September to 19 October. As befitting a ripe vintage such as this, it has an intense and outgoing bouquet with a surfeit of fruit: blackberry commingling with bilberry. Blueberry scents manifest with aeration and becomes increasingly prominent. The palate is plush and generous. Lithe and rounded in texture, it is balanced and pure, ladling out a mixture of black and blue fruit like there’s no tomorrow. It is not sophisticated - that is not the raison d’être of this Troisième Vin. To put it prosaically, this is just a delicious Pauillac that is drinking perfectly now and will continue to do so for another 6 to 8 years. Drink 2021-2030

89
Neal Martin, vinous.com, March 2021

Very well defined Pauillac in 2016. Blackcurrants, black berries and minerals with crushed stones. Full bodied, firm and silky. Gorgeous fruit.

94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2019

Composed of 54.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.9% Merlot, and 6.5% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Le Pauillac de Chateau Latour is deep garnet in color. It skips out of the glass with exuberant notions of chocolate-covered cherries, wild blueberries, and sassafras, leading to suggestions of tilled soil, fallen leaves, and charcoal. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing and still tightly wound, offering bright, crunchy black and red fruits with loads of savory sparks and an approachable, grainy texture, finishing with great persistence.

93
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

Dark, lustrous crimson. Very forward, come-hither and also energetic with the great advantage of this first growth's top-quality barrels – and attention to organic detail in the vineyard. That stony ripeness on the nose that characterises a good Pauillac with just a slight animal note. Pretty intense, sumptuous nose. Neat, dry palate that's distinctly lighter-bodied than its grander stablemates – just in case we thought we could get a Latour for a Pauillac price. But hugely appetising. With its sinewy (though not excessive) tannins, this is not a wine to sip without food. But based on my experience enjoying various early vintages of this wine, of which Hugh Johnson used to get a good supply when he was a director of Ch Latour, I wouldn't hesitate to keep it for another 10 years. The finish is really something. It just goes on and on! 13%
Drink 2021 – 2031

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2021
Read more tasting notes...

The 2016 Pauillac de Château Latour has developed well since I tasted it from barrel. It offers pure blackberry and bilberry fruit scented with a hint of pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and silky-smooth texture. Faint touches of vanilla infuse the black fruit, and graphite lingers on the aftertaste. Utterly delightful. 2020 - 2030

90
Neal Martin, vinous.com, January 2019

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Le Pauillac de Château Latour, a blend of 54.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.9% Merlot and 6.5% Petit Verdot, comes barreling out of the glass with exuberant notes of ripe black cherries, blackberry pie and blackcurrant pastilles, followed by hints of menthol, iodine, damp earth and tree bark, plus a faint medicinal waft. The medium-bodied palate is coated with juicy black fruits and loads of earthy/minty sparks, supported by soft tannins and a racy backbone, finishing long and lifted.

89
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2021), March 2021

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Le Pauillac de Château Latour opens with gorgeous cassis, warm plums, exotic spice and licorice scents with wafts of tobacco. Medium-bodied, the fruit is still tightly wound with fantastic tension and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing very long. 2020 - 2032

90
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (End Nov 18), November 2018

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot. 26.5% of production. 10% press wine and an IPT of 77.
Deep crimson and very ripe and fresh. Real flesh and savoury and lovely texture. Sinewy. Rich and polished. Long. Dangerously good. Very pure. Great stuff! 2023 - 2032

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2017
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.