CRITIC REVIEWS
Neal Martin
The 2013 Latour has quite an austere nose, backward and slightly surly. Light and tertiary black fruit mix with cigar humidor and autumn leaf scents. The palate is better with a gentle grip, fine acidity and decent balance. You do wish for more fruit on the finish, though there is a greater density on the finish compared with the Lafite-Rothschild. Fine.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Composed of 95.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.4% Merlot and 0.4% Petit Verdot, the 2013 Latour offers an open-knit, fragrant nose of licorice, sandalwood, rose petals and cigar box over a core of Black Forest cake, stewed plums, mulberries and redcurrant jelly, plus a waft of cast-iron pan. The elegantly styled, medium-bodied palate (13% alcohol) fills the mouth with intense red and black berry preserves layers, framed by evolved, soft-textured tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and spicy. This vintage does not have the power and backbone of an outstanding vintage of Latour, but it is aging gracefully and, still possessing a lot of discernible fruit with plenty of tertiary pizazz, is absolutely delicious to drink right now. This sweet-spot stage is likely to continue for another 5-7 years, before the wine plateaus at a maturity peak and holds for a further 15+ years.
JancisRobinson.com
Blackish crimson. Latour's second vintage outside the en-primeur system. Nose is quite intense for a 2013 though it may suffer for being tasted next to the more ethereal Lafite 2013. Dense and arguably a little stodgy. It may come right eventually but it's just The Incredible Hulk at the moment. (JR)