Hey Fellow Wino’s
As we age and get older be it 20’s, 30’s, 50’s or 80’s, you start to learn that life has its ups and downs, twists and turns and rarely goes according to your master plan. I suppose that is what makes life so interesting because sometimes unique opportunities arise when you least expect them.
I’m proud to say I graduated the CAPS program with honours (Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers) in partnership with George Brown College. It was a lot of studying, a lot of tasting and a tad expensive to say the least but totally worth it. Being a certified Sommelier has its fair share of benefits from complementary industry tastings to getting to know all the people in the #DineTO world, winemakers, importers and beyond.
Well, as luck may have it, a Chateau Latour tasting came up and much to my surprise a spot was saved for little old me. This “Chateau Latour Masterclass” was put on by Lifford Wine & Spirits, CAPS and Chateau Latour. For those that don’t know, Chateau Latour is a first-growth Bordeaux from the classification of 1855. This means, that in 1855 ahead of the International Exposition in Paris, Chateau Latour was labelled as one of four of the absolute best wineries in all of Bordeaux.
Think about that for a minute, one of four in all of Bordeaux which had hundreds if not thousands of wineries small, medium and large. This obviously places Chateau Latour among Bordeaux Elite in both quality and price. I always said one day I will taste what First Growth Bordeaux taste like as I have had fifth, fourth and third but not second or first yet. Well, this day was my lucky day.
For a little perspective, Chateau Latour is located in the heart of the Medoc wine region, about 50KM north-west of the city of Bordeaux in Pauillac. Vines have existed on the site since the 14thcentury and Latour’s wine received recognition as early as the 16thcentury. To my amazement, it survived in the same family from 1670 all the way to 1963. Chateau Latour is now owned by Groupe Artemis. Chateau Latour has 190 Acres of vines of which a 120-acre portion near the château is named l'Enclos, where fruit exclusive for the grand vin is grown. The average composition of grape varieties is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 2% of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The soil consists of 6m-7m deep of pebbles with clay and sand under that. Some of the vines are as old as 60 years and the 2018 vintage will be the first fully certified Organic vintage with at least 1/2 designated Biodynamic. Chateau Latour has been using Organic and Biodynamic practices since 2008 so it will be great to see a fully certified Organic vintage come out.
Upon arriving at Lifford Wine & Spirits I saw a setting for maybe 40 people along two sets of long tables. In typical fashion I showed up early and was the first one to arrive, only to watch in amazement at the talent that came walking in after me. Master Sommelier’s, Masters of Wine, Wine Directors from large restaurants, Sommelier from ALO, Sommelier from CIBO Wine Bar, President of CAPS and literally the best Sommelier from Quebec. You can understand how I, a fresh graduate with honours who piddles around with his keyboard blogging felt among such talent.
Anyways, my rosy cheeks of shyness aside, let’s dive into the wine.
1. Pauillac de Chateau Latour 2011
2. Forts de Latour 2010
3. Forts de Latour 2009
4. Forts de Latour 2005
5. Chateau Latour 2004
6. Chateau Latour 2003
7. Chateau Latour 2002
8. Chateau Latour 2001
9. Chateau Latour 1999
We also had a mystery wine which turned out be non-other than a magnum of 1970 Chateau Latour from the personal cellar of Steven, the “head cheese” as he likes to call himself of Lifford Wine & Spirits.
So, how did they taste?
Honestly, I did not care too much for the Pauillac de Chateau Latour, 2011. This wine was from young vines, grown on less prestigious terroirs in the vineyard and do not meet the vintage specific criteria to be labelled “Forts de Latour" their second wine, let alone Chateau Latour, their Grand Vin. This third wine of Chateau Latour was austere and far too young to drink and lacking depth and complexity, hence the price and its classification.
The Forts de Latour 2010, 2009 and 2005 were a noticeable improvement. The quality of the fruit, the complexity and a fuller body you would expect over the Pauillac de Chateau Latour. As we drank older and older vintages they were showing signs of softening so it was a pleasure to go back in time vintage by vintage. I found these wines had almost a luxurious feel to them, a certain plushness, not because I knew the price, but because everything was so well integrated. Some wines I find you can taste Fruit x, Leather this and Forest Floor that, all while quite separate. This wine was hard to describe as I have never experienced this before because all of the flavours came together at once in perfect harmony. Not in a loud way like an Italian family and all of their hand gestures at Christmas, but like a symphony during Beethoven’s 5thas each instrument builds to their high point of pure elegance and bliss. I thought these were quite beautiful, that is until that Grand Vin was tasted, ohh my!
The Chateau Latour 2004 was fantastic with its polished elegant tannins, integration of all aspects and most importantly, power. This wine is bigger, meaner and yet drives like an Aston Martin with a V8, big and powerful, yet elegant.
The Chateau Latour 2003 was fantastic and my favourite. The fruit seemed riper, finish lasted for minutes and honestly, I started smiling and couldn’t stop. Holy Crap I thought to myself, I’m tasting 15-year-old Chateau Latour besides Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers, I better not knock one of my many glasses over and look like a newb. They often say that some of the finest wines from Bordeaux including Pauillac taste like an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove and I couldn’t have agreed more. The structure was that of a behemoth with acidity and tannin to go the distance for 20-40-60 years but the delicate florals and soft fruit, just elegance. To quote the famous Drag Queen RuPaul, it was a “Eleganza Extravaganza”
The Chateau Latour 2002, 2001 and 1999 were all fantastic and lovely but the ripeness of the 03 is the one that stood out most to me. I guess you could say I like my slightly more fruit forward old-world wines.
The 1970 Chateau Latour was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before as well. This wine was 48 years old and yet drinking dam well. For a winemaker to be able to produce a wine that can go 50 years takes not only incredible skill and courage but in my opinion also a little bit of luck from the weather of that vintage. The acidity, tannin and body were all there but its fruit condition was slowly heading towards fig, prune, charred and dried blackberries and the earth notes were taking over. I would have paired this with a delicately aged ribeye with nothing but a shitake mushroom glaze on top, perfection! While my jaw was on the floor when it was revealed after tasting it, I’d still say the 03 was my favorite cup of tea.
There was a chance for some Q&A after our tasting and one question was raised which had to do with climate change and increased alcohol levels. The guest was wondering will the Chateau Latour wines of today make it 50 years like the previous decades’ vintages to which an older man turned to his older seatmate and mumbled: “doesn’t matter for us”.
*Side Note on Climate Change = Hotter summers mean quicker ripening grapes with more sugar, in turn, more alcohol and in turn boozier yet flabbier wines (less acidity).
I guess that shows wine is like life, live it and drink it while you can before it’s gone because it is precious. If you told me a few years ago I would be at a Chateau Latour tasting not because of my wallet, but because of my certification, determination and talent, I simply wouldn’t have believed you.
I want to personally thank Steven, the big cheese of Lifford Wine and Spirits, the sales rep from Chateau Latour and CAPS as these doors wouldn’t have opened without them.
Happy Sipping,
Ryan Sullivan
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