2004 Latour

97 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

There are tannins, structure and power, but also supreme elegance. The 2004 acidity comes through in the sweet cassis flavors, supported at the back by dry tannins. Currently, the wine is closed up, losing some of its fresh fruit, but this is a moment in its slow evolution towards a classic Latour.

97 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

United Cellars Grand Bordeaux Tasting Dense, black fruited, cedar and sweet tobacco, some light aniseed perfume. Full bodied, floods the mouth with ripe – but just right – fruit with sweeping tannin, mouth perfume and superb length. Behold! That’s super wine.

95 POINTS

Robert Parker - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The wine of the vintage, Latour’s 2004 boasts a dense purple color as well as a classic nose of ink, black currants, sweet cherries, crushed rocks, and minerals. Even though it is aged in 100% new French oak, there is not a hint of woodiness. It possesses a beautiful texture, moderately high tannin, fabulous concentration, and a long, full-bodied finish. A brilliant wine from a challenging vintage, it should be at its apogee between 2013-2035. Kudos to everyone at Latour!

95 POINTS

Robert Parker - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

After a 2003 production of less than 10,000 cases, there are a whopping 15,000 cases of the 2004 Latour. The harvest began on September 23 (Merlot) and finished on October 19. About 51% of the production made it into the final blend (89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc). At this early stage, Latour appears to be the wine of the Medoc, and provides additional evidence of why Latour is pushing slightly ahead of most of its first-growth rivals. It boasts an inky/purple color in addition to a sweet perfume of crushed rocks, black currants, raspberries, and hints of wood as well as cold steel. It reveals the most density and depth of any of the Medoc first-growths. Manager Frederic Engerer believes the 2004 is closest in style to the 2002. By the standards of the vintage, which did not produce many big, powerful, deep, full-bodied wines, it is a large-scaled yet elegant wine with sweet tannin and plenty of depth. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.

95 POINTS

Robert Parker - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A terrific effort from Administrator Frederic Engerer and owner Francois Pinault, the dark ruby/purple-tinged 2004 Latour exhibits a strong cassis character intermixed with notes of crushed rocks, earth, cedar, and forest floor. Racy, elegant, but powerful with medium to full body, and sweet tannin, it will benefit from 5-7 years of cellaring, and should keep for three decades. It is a very impressive offering. Also tasted: 2004 Pauillac (87; $38.00)

94 POINTS

Charles Curtis MW - Decanter

This wine proved me wrong about the 2004 vintage – it is utterly delicious, with an incredibly forward and silky, bright red fruit aroma on the initial attack. Picking began on 23rd September and continued into the second week of October, giving an elegant, fresh wine. It lacks perhaps a bit of the depth of other recent vintages but makes up for it with the silky, gracious texture that is compellingly lovely.

93 POINTS

James Suckling

This is surprisingly approachable, especially from a big bottle. It’s soft and fruity with balsamic and sweet tobacco character. Full and round mouthfeel. It will obviously improve with age, but why wait? Served from imperial bottle.

Jancis Robinson

[CS almost 90%, highest ever, M 10%; average yield 57 hl/ha; represents 51% of total production.] Healthy but not excessively deep crimson. Very dark, mineral, very Latour and classical. Iodine and other minerals. Great balance, Dense and fine, more polished than the old slightly more rustic style but with definite terroir expression. Great finesse and power all the way through. Although pretty tough and high in tannins with its IPT of 70, it also seems remarkably integrated rather than made up of entirely different elements. Lovely compaction. Quite a bit of acid. Lovely sweetness. Score: 19/NaN