Forts de Latour - Pauillac 2017

Jamessuckling.com

95

byJames Sucklingthe4/13/2023

Juicy and spicy with fresh tobacco, redcurrants and crushed stone character. Medium to full body. Medium velvety tannins and a delicious finish. Will age beautifully as well. Better after 2026.

Wine Advocate

93

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

Aromas of minty berries, cassis and plums mingle with hints of pencil shavings to introduce the 2017 Les Forts de Latour, a medium to full-bodied, suave and elegant wine with attractive depth and purity of fruit, supple tannins and a bright, precise profile. This is a classy Les Forts that will offer a broad drinking window. As readers will remember, it mostly derives from dedicated parcels located further inland from Latour's famous "Enclos," next to Château Haut-Batailley.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

93

byJane Ansonthe2/27/2023

A floral curl on the first nose, this is an attractive and sappy Forts de Latour, with a fine, elegant, almost chalky aspect to the tannins. Thoroughly charming raspberry and blackberry fruit, fresh earth, cocoa power and slate, with a mouthwatering finish. An elegant feel to this, more evolved than in bigger vintages at the six year stage although still with clear architecture to the tannins. As you sit with it you start to realise just how carefully it is gripping on through the palate, and how fine a wine it is. As with many in Pauillac, Latour found the September rains of 2017 challenging, and two of the plots normally used for the main estate wine are in Forts this year. 6.7% press wine. Hélène Genin techincal director, harvest September 11 to October 4.

The Wine Independent

95

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe12/29/2022

The 2017 Les Forts de Latour is composed of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and 0.8% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet in color, it comes galloping out with bold notions of warm cassis, blackberry pie, and dried roses, plus suggestions of crushed rocks, wild sage, and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is completely filled with delicate waves of bright, refreshing black and red berry layers, supported by super-ripe, super-fine tannins, finishing long and perfumed. This is stunning!

Wine Advocate

94

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/17/2020

A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color and strides confidently out of the glass with classic notes of plum preserves, warm cassis and pencil shavings with nuances of mulberries, pencil lead, Indian spices and forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate packs a lot of fruit into a very elegant, tightly knit palate, delivering expressive blackberry and spicy flavors with a firm frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with a peppery kick. Drinking Window : 2022 - 2045

Vinous

94

byAntonio Gallonithe3/11/2020

Powerful and dark in the glass, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is super-impressive. Black cherry, plum, spice, chocolate and leather are just some of the many aromas and flavors that flesh out as this ample, heady Pauillac shows off its considerable personality. Medium in body, yet with terrific depth and substance, the Forts de Latour is an absolute winner in 2017.

Wine Spectator

93

byJames Molesworththe2/7/2020

Bright and fresh, featuring floral, cassis and plum aromas and flavors allied to a sleek, iron-tinged frame. Racy tension through the finish lets the fruit play out while the minerality blossoms. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038. — JM

Le Point

16

byJacques Dupontthe6/20/2018

Plus fruits noirs, tanins fermes, frais, tanins de bois élégants, très tendu, poivré, vif, juteux, déjà en place, juste équilibre.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

byJeb Dunnuckthe6/12/2018

The true second wine of the estate is the 2017 Les Forts de Latour, another serious wine that shows more than a little Grand Vin character. Medium-bodied, tight, concentrated, and backward, it has beautiful tannin quality, impressive mid-palate depth, and plenty of length. Classic cassis, graphite, and minerality dominate the bouquet. It will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. The blend is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc (this is the only cuvée that sees any Cabernet Franc). Roughly 45% of the production goes into this cuvée.

WeinWisser

17,5

byRené Gabrielthe5/31/2018

65,2% Ca­bernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot, 0,8 % Ca­bernet Franc, 0,1 % Petit Verdot. Deutlich hOherer Merlot-Anteil gegenüber dem Grand Vin. Sattes Rubingranat mit lita Rand. Schon im Duft tiefgestaffelt und vielschichtig. Duftige Waldbeeren mit parfümiertem Tabak wechseln sich mit Heidelbeeren, Flieder und viel spürbarer, tiefgründiger Mineralik ab. Am festen Gaumen mit gutem Zug und reifem, fein-sprbdem Extrakt sowie reifen, stützenden Tanninen. lm konzentrierten Finale mit getrockneten blauen Beeren im Nach-hall, Besticht durch seine beruhigende, klassische Ausrichtung, kratzt an der 18/20.                      
17.5+/20 2027 — 2042

Vinifera

93

byJacques Perrinthe5/28/2018

Graphite, cèdre, violette, baies noires. Attaque sensiblement charnue pour un vin de très belle texture, ample et fin dans le grain, sans dureté, sapide, délié, frais.

Vinous

91-94

byAntonio Gallonithe5/15/2018

The 2017 Les Forts de Latour is a dark, sensual wine. There is a real sense of weight and gravitas to the Forts de Latour. Graphite, smoke, grilled herb and menthol notes add to an impression of darkness in this deceptively medium-bodied Pauillac. What a gorgeous and promising wine the 2017 is. The blend is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 0.8% Cabernet Franc.

The Wine Cellar Insider

92-94

byJeff Levethe5/11/2018

Forest floor, cedar, tobacco leaf and fresh, dark red berries open the wine. Ripe, sweet tannins, juicy, fresh cassis and plenty of fruit and cigar wrapper in the zesty finish to satisfy a discerning consumer. This wine has a lot of lift but the tannins are soft enough, that you should be able to enjoy this in a few years, and it's going to age well too. The wine was produced from blending 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and .08% Cabernet Franc.

Vinous

91-93

byNeal Martinthe5/1/2018

The 2017 Les Forts de Latour has a crisp, focused bouquet with blackberry, graphite and cedar, a little tighter than the 2016 last year, a little airier. The palate is medium-bodied underpinned by very refined and supple tannin that lend this a silky texture. I can envisage this being a more approachable Les Forts de Latour compared to recent vintages, with a lovely sense of mineralité that blossoms on the finish. Excellent.

Wine Advocate

92-94

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe4/27/2018

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour features beautiful blackcurrants, redcurrants and kirsch overtones with touches of bay leaves, lavender, tobacco, tilled soil, cedar chest and red roses. The palate is medium-bodied, firm, grainy and refreshing with a great intensity of flavors—quite muscular and densely packed—with a nice long, earth and mineral-laced finish.

Decanter.com

92

byJane Ansonthe4/25/2018

I love what technical director Hélène Génin is doing here, it's full of power and finesse. As with its neighbours, Latour found the rains in June extremely helpful, the ones of September a little less so, and two of the plots normally used for the grand vin are in Forts this year. The overall feel of the wine is sculpted, not soft but with give in those tannins that makes the overall texture bouncy and vibrant. There's a little less press wine than in a normal year (7% compared to 9%), and it should be ready to drink in six to eight years, a little earlier than both the 2015 and 2016. It feels close to the 2014 in character, but with higher aromatics. 45% of overall production.

Drinking Window 2024 - 2038

Jean-Marc QUARIN

16,75

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/17/2018

Wine Enthusiast

94-96

byRoger Vossthe4/17/2018

Well Structured, this is a wine with remarkable tannins and surprisingly rich fruit. It has lovely juicy acidity and black currant flavor. Open, ripe and generous, it is an impressive wine that will age seriously.

Jamessuckling.com

94-95

byJames Sucklingthe4/6/2018

This is really minerally with crushed stones and dark berries. Some licorice. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a beautiful, tight and focused finish. Such energy, delivered down a straight line.