2005 Chateau Latour Pauillac Premier Grand Cru Classe
100 points James Suckling
"A very complex nose of lavender, currants, spices, and hot stones. Full and dense on the palate, with a very tight structure. The tannins have a perfect polish to their density, and the finish is very intense, with wonderful fruit and truffle character. This turns almost decadent, with tremendous energy and a constantly changing profile." — February 2011
100 points Wine & Spirits
"How rare to confront a wine of this inner strength and perfect form. Grown at a 116-acre vineyard at the southern border of Pauillac, some of the vines now reaching 100 years of age on a gravel bar overlooking the Gironde, Latour harvests Cabernet Sauvignon with natural power. I could describe it as colors, from glistening ruby to purple-black then back to scarlet tannins that vibrate in red. Or just the pure, unadulterated flavor of black currant, unformed as a child is unformed, beautiful as a child is beautiful. However, I might describe it, the wine is stronger than I am and will outlast me by decades. This is the most provocative and most brilliant Latour I have tasted on release." — October 2008
100 points Wine Enthusiast
"Cellar Selection A great wine, the summation of a great vintage in Bordeaux. The core of richness, the dense, bone-dry tannins, the black currants, red berries, and black plum skins are the elements, but it’s the way they have been integrated that makes this such an impressive wine. There is great elegance as well, a fabulous counterpoint to such power. Cellar for at least 15 years, but this will keep forever." — June 2008
98 points Wine Advocate
"The 2005 Latour (87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) is a spectacular effort from Château Latour. It has an inky plum/purple color and a gorgeous nose of graphite, crème de cassis, and floral notes with some forest floor in the background. It is full-bodied, super-concentrated, and for my taste, probably one of the two or three most intense, rich, and complex wines of the entire Médoc. The wine has great texture, purity, and a finish of close to 40 or 45 seconds. The tannins are surprisingly sweet, even in this large-scaled, masculine wine. Drink it over the next 50+ years." — RP, June 2015
98 points Int'l Wine Cellar
"Deep ruby-red. Reticent, brooding aromas of cassis, black plum, graphite, and flowers. Then utterly explosive in the mouth, with wonderful sappy complexity of flavor and a thickness of texture that builds and builds toward the back; almost no sign of the new oak here. Offers a near-magical combination of power and refinement, but this extremely primary wine is still an infant. Finishes with extraordinary persistence that leaves the palate vibrating. One of the greatest young Bordeaux I've tasted in recent years, and more complete and classic than the outrageously lush 2003. For his part, Engerer feels that this wine combines the best traits of the 2003 and 2000 Latours. I made the mistake of retasting the 2007 after trying this, and the tannins of the younger wine came off as dry by comparison." — ST, June 2008
100 points James Suckling
"A very complex nose of lavender, currants, spices, and hot stones. Full and dense on the palate, with a very tight structure. The tannins have a perfect polish to their density, and the finish is very intense, with wonderful fruit and truffle character. This turns almost decadent, with tremendous energy and a constantly changing profile." — February 2011
100 points Wine & Spirits
"How rare to confront a wine of this inner strength and perfect form. Grown at a 116-acre vineyard at the southern border of Pauillac, some of the vines now reaching 100 years of age on a gravel bar overlooking the Gironde, Latour harvests Cabernet Sauvignon with natural power. I could describe it as colors, from glistening ruby to purple-black then back to scarlet tannins that vibrate in red. Or just the pure, unadulterated flavor of black currant, unformed as a child is unformed, beautiful as a child is beautiful. However, I might describe it, the wine is stronger than I am and will outlast me by decades. This is the most provocative and most brilliant Latour I have tasted on release." — October 2008
100 points Wine Enthusiast
"Cellar Selection A great wine, the summation of a great vintage in Bordeaux. The core of richness, the dense, bone-dry tannins, the black currants, red berries, and black plum skins are the elements, but it’s the way they have been integrated that makes this such an impressive wine. There is great elegance as well, a fabulous counterpoint to such power. Cellar for at least 15 years, but this will keep forever." — June 2008
98 points Wine Advocate
"The 2005 Latour (87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) is a spectacular effort from Château Latour. It has an inky plum/purple color and a gorgeous nose of graphite, crème de cassis, and floral notes with some forest floor in the background. It is full-bodied, super-concentrated, and for my taste, probably one of the two or three most intense, rich, and complex wines of the entire Médoc. The wine has great texture, purity, and a finish of close to 40 or 45 seconds. The tannins are surprisingly sweet, even in this large-scaled, masculine wine. Drink it over the next 50+ years." — RP, June 2015
98 points Int'l Wine Cellar
"Deep ruby-red. Reticent, brooding aromas of cassis, black plum, graphite, and flowers. Then utterly explosive in the mouth, with wonderful sappy complexity of flavor and a thickness of texture that builds and builds toward the back; almost no sign of the new oak here. Offers a near-magical combination of power and refinement, but this extremely primary wine is still an infant. Finishes with extraordinary persistence that leaves the palate vibrating. One of the greatest young Bordeaux I've tasted in recent years, and more complete and classic than the outrageously lush 2003. For his part, Engerer feels that this wine combines the best traits of the 2003 and 2000 Latours. I made the mistake of retasting the 2007 after trying this, and the tannins of the younger wine came off as dry by comparison." — ST, June 2008
100 points James Suckling
"A very complex nose of lavender, currants, spices, and hot stones. Full and dense on the palate, with a very tight structure. The tannins have a perfect polish to their density, and the finish is very intense, with wonderful fruit and truffle character. This turns almost decadent, with tremendous energy and a constantly changing profile." — February 2011
100 points Wine & Spirits
"How rare to confront a wine of this inner strength and perfect form. Grown at a 116-acre vineyard at the southern border of Pauillac, some of the vines now reaching 100 years of age on a gravel bar overlooking the Gironde, Latour harvests Cabernet Sauvignon with natural power. I could describe it as colors, from glistening ruby to purple-black then back to scarlet tannins that vibrate in red. Or just the pure, unadulterated flavor of black currant, unformed as a child is unformed, beautiful as a child is beautiful. However, I might describe it, the wine is stronger than I am and will outlast me by decades. This is the most provocative and most brilliant Latour I have tasted on release." — October 2008
100 points Wine Enthusiast
"Cellar Selection A great wine, the summation of a great vintage in Bordeaux. The core of richness, the dense, bone-dry tannins, the black currants, red berries, and black plum skins are the elements, but it’s the way they have been integrated that makes this such an impressive wine. There is great elegance as well, a fabulous counterpoint to such power. Cellar for at least 15 years, but this will keep forever." — June 2008
98 points Wine Advocate
"The 2005 Latour (87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) is a spectacular effort from Château Latour. It has an inky plum/purple color and a gorgeous nose of graphite, crème de cassis, and floral notes with some forest floor in the background. It is full-bodied, super-concentrated, and for my taste, probably one of the two or three most intense, rich, and complex wines of the entire Médoc. The wine has great texture, purity, and a finish of close to 40 or 45 seconds. The tannins are surprisingly sweet, even in this large-scaled, masculine wine. Drink it over the next 50+ years." — RP, June 2015
98 points Int'l Wine Cellar
"Deep ruby-red. Reticent, brooding aromas of cassis, black plum, graphite, and flowers. Then utterly explosive in the mouth, with wonderful sappy complexity of flavor and a thickness of texture that builds and builds toward the back; almost no sign of the new oak here. Offers a near-magical combination of power and refinement, but this extremely primary wine is still an infant. Finishes with extraordinary persistence that leaves the palate vibrating. One of the greatest young Bordeaux I've tasted in recent years, and more complete and classic than the outrageously lush 2003. For his part, Engerer feels that this wine combines the best traits of the 2003 and 2000 Latours. I made the mistake of retasting the 2007 after trying this, and the tannins of the younger wine came off as dry by comparison." — ST, June 2008
VINTAGE - 2005
VARIETAL - Cabernet Sauvignon | Merlot | Petit Verdot
COUNTRY - France
REGION - Left Bank, Bordeaux
BOTTLE SIZE - 750ml
ABV - 13.5%
