97pts James Suckling

Exquisite aromas of lavender, cigar ash and Spanish cedar with dried citrus follow through to a medium body and a solid palate with powerful, ultrafine and linear tannins. The muscle and long finish are so beautiful. Give it two or three years but already a solid wine.

95pts The Wine Independent

Composed of 65.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.9% Merlot, and 2.3% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with classic scents of cedar, cassis, and plum preserves, followed by suggestions of bay leaves, lavender, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is tight-knit, bright, and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins and a mineral-laced finish. 

94pts Decanter

A captivating nose of milk chocolate, cola, cherries, and violets, offering a soft and inviting bouquet. The palate is fully textured, opening gradually to coat the cheeks and tongue in a fine layer of chalky tannins. Juicy and succulent through the mid-palate, it bursts with citrus zest, orange and lemon pith, cranberries, and red cherries. There’s a beautiful interplay of bite and tension, with a sapdi freshness and a mineral core of crushed stones and iron. The finish ends bright, minty, and herbal, delivering great drive and persistence. 

94pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 Les Forts de Latour appears to have tightened up a little since I last tasted it a few years ago. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet cassis fruit mingled with hints of cedar, iris, orange zest and new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, lively and nicely concentrated, with a ripe core of fruit underpinned by chalky structuring tannins. While it's approachable after a decant, it certainly merits additional patience. 

94pts Vinous

The 2019 Les Forts de Latour has an open nose, strangely perhaps a little more expressive than the 2020 Pauillac de Latour at the moment. Scents of blackberry, cassis and iris flower unfold in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with crushed stone infusing the black fruit. This has attained more linearity since I encountered it in January 2023. The 2019 will give two or three decades of pleasurable drinking. 

93pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2019 Les Forts De Latour is more open, expressive, and complex, with a medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific aromatics of ripe currants, leather, graphite, and cedary spice. I love its overall purity, and it has fabulous balance and outstanding length. Coming from slightly less ideal parcels (those farther from the Gironde estuary), it doesn't have the density of the 2020 or 2022 but shines for its overall equilibrium and elegance, while still bringing some solid Pauillac power.

Tasting Notes

Linear and very focused yet silky smooth and round, the aromas keep on developing revealing great complexity and depth of flavour.

Intense violet hue. A plethora of black fruits on the nose such as pure cassis, damson and crunchy black cherry. A touch of cedarwood, smoke and tobacco complete this highly complex wine. Whilst very charming and supple, it has a fine tannic backbone and a sappy freshness. The finale is very harmonious and long.

About the Wine

Les Forts de Latour takes its name from an historic plot in the « Enclos ». The wine was first labelled with this name in 1966 and constant work on developing its quality has resulted in its achieving the level of a Médoc Grand Cru Classé.

The origin of this wine is threefold:

• The edge of the Enclos.
• Some plots that could be used in the Grand Vin may finally be included in the Forts de Latour blend, depending on how their quality is judged during the blending tastings.
• Plots located outside the Enclos, in Cru Classé areas of Pauillac:

These consist on the one hand, of plots such as Piñada, Petit Batailley and St. Anne, which have belonged to the estate for more than a century and whose vines benefit from a high average age (around 40 years), synonymous with quality.

And on the other hand, of a seven hectare island of vines in the commune of Artigues on gravel terraces, which was acquired in 2005. Plus a handful of plots (about 5 hectares) acquired in 2012.

These various blocks of plots present very different terroirs, thereby offering Forts de Latour more varied characteristics and flavour profiles depending on the vintage.

Les Forts de Latour is produced with the same meticulous care as the Grand Vin, both in the vineyard and in the winery. The only notable difference, apart from the origin of the grapes, is the proportion of new barrels (50 to 60%) used in the maturing stage.

The blend for Forts de Latour can vary from one year to the next but there is always a higher proportion of Merlot (25 to 30%) compared to the Grand Vin.

Winery Notes

Château Latour, located in the Pauillac appellation of Bordeaux’s Médoc region, is one of the oldest and most esteemed wine estates in France. Its history dates back to the 14th century, with the first mention of the estate’s name in 1331, and by the 17th century it had become renowned for producing high-quality wines. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Château Latour’s reputation for power, structure, and longevity grew, leading to its classification as a First Growth (Premier Cru) in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. The estate has passed through several owners over the centuries and was most recently acquired by the French businessman François Pinault in 1993, whose stewardship and investment have further elevated its prestige. Today, Château Latour remains one of Bordeaux’s benchmark producers, celebrated for its meticulous vineyard management, precision winemaking, and consistently exceptional wines that epitomize the strength and depth of Pauillac terroir.

Blend: 66% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot