Chateau Latour Les Forts de Latour 2015

95 POINTS

James Suckling

Aromas of blackcurrants, sweet tobacco, fresh herbs, licorice and cigar box follow through to a full body with tannins that are totally integrated and ultra, ultra fine, framing the wine and highlighting the subtle, pretty fruit. All about grace and beauty. Keeps getting better. Drink or hold.

94 POINTS

Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast

93–95. Barrel Sample. There is a velvet touch to this smooth, rounded wine. With some dark tannins as well as blackberry fruits, it is rich with some concentration. At the same time, the acidity shoots through the wine to give a really fruity aftertaste.

94 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2015 Les Forts de Latour has a little more fruit intensity than its peers, offering blackberry, graphite and cedar – all quintessential Pauillac – though it would benefit from a tad more precision. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip, beautiful balance and polished blackberry and bilberry fruit toward the finish, where a tang of salinity lends tension. This is an outstanding Les Forts de Latour. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

94 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

Composed of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35.6% Merlot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.9% Petit Verdot, the 2015 Les Forts de Latour needs a fair bit of air to unlock a profound, powerhouse nose of blackcurrant cordial, boysenberries, plum preserves and dark chocolate, with suggestions of Chinese five spice, clove oil, violets and crushed rocks. The palate packs an absolute flavor wallop, bursting with rich, ripe black fruits and loads of spicy sparks, while framed by beautifully plush tannins, finishing long and minerally. Not at all heavy, on the contrary, the Les Forts is both expansive AND tantalizingly refreshing. In terms of evolution, it has barely budged since I last tasted it in 2017. While it's drinking very well right now, it easily has a good 20 years of cellaring ahead, maybe more. Impressive.

94 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2015 Les Forts de Latour is silky, perfumed and wonderfully nuanced from the very first taste. Crushed red berry, cedar, tobacco, mint and blood orange lend striking aromatic nuance. Ample and resonant in feel, yet with mid-weight structure, the 2015 is a total pleasure to taste today. All of the natural radiance of the warm year comes through in the wine's generous, inviting personality. Drink it over the next 15 years or so. (AG)

94 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2015 Les Forts de Latour is a dark, authoritative wine. Graphite, smoke, gravel, menthol, violet and creme de cassis build as this powerful, virile wine shows off its brooding, virile personality. The 2015 finishes with a burst of explosive energy that only adds to its considerable allure. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2015 is likely to require a number of years in bottle to be approachable. Even at this early stage, the 2015 Forts de Latour is simply gorgeous. The 2015 is 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35.6% Merlot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.9% Petit Verdot.

93 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2015 Les Forts de Latour was picked from 15 September to 10 October, commencing with the Merlot and finishing with the Cabernet Sauvignon. This bottle correlates closely to the one that I tasted blind in January 2019. There is a mixture of blackberry, graphite and cedar on the nose, very well defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, a mixture of red and black fruit with superb mineralité and lip-smacking salinity. Velvety in texture, this is wonderfully poised with great persistence on the finish. Excellent. (NM)

Jancis Robinson MW

Not yet released. Tasted blind. Crimson. Sweet and rather flashy, but the tannins are a bit raw. Dusty and edgy. Green notes. Score: 16.5/20