Latour - Pauillac 2016

Jamessuckling.com

100

byJames Sucklingthe2/6/2026

This has a fascinating nose of tar, tobacco, graphite, dried flowers and blackberries. Remarkably youthful at 10 years of age. The palate is structured and medium- to full-bodied, yet the structure is tempered by elegance. The tannins are integrated, firm, cohesive and well aligned with the delineated dark fruit profile. Youthful and accessible now, but will evolve exceptionally well. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.

The Wine Cellar Insider

100

byJeff Levethe3/18/2025

With a deep, dark hue, you already note the tobacco, cigar box, wet earth, cassis, forest floor and blackberry characteristics with little effort, That\'s just the perfume. On the palate you find volume, intensity, purity, complexity, freshness and silky, salty tannins. The wine fills your mouth with a perfect combination of acidity and fruit. The mineral driven, oceanic sensation that accompanies the fruit is just great, staying with you as all that ripe, red-fruit builds and expands. Elegant, powerful and refined, this will age for 4-5-6 decades or longer. The wine was produced from blending 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot

The Wine Independent

100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/18/2025

The 2016 Latour is a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gives nothing away for the first few moments of swirling, then begins to offer suggestions of freshly crushed blackcurrants and blackberries, followed by suggestions of lilacs, charcoal, iron ore, and black truffles, plus wafts of fragrant soil and garrigue. The medium-bodied palate is like an atomic bomb waiting to go off, taut with tightly wound black fruits and mineral layers, supported by firm, super-ripe, grainy tannins, finishing on an epically persistent ferrous note.

timatkin.com

100

byTim Atkin MWthe3/18/2025

Regular readers will know that I don’t scatter 100 point scores like confetti, but this is worth every one of them and is the wine of the vintage. Violet, green herb and blueberry notes are framed by sensuous tannins, deftly integrated new oak and a finish that lasts for a minute or more. A stunning wine.

Jeb DUNNUCK

100

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/6/2025

Retasting the 2016 Château Latour next to both the 2010 and 2022 had me feeling like a kid in a candy store. Needing lots of air to show at its best, its dense purple hue is followed by quintessential Latour notes of smoky blackcurrants, scorched earth, graphite, and lead pencil shavings. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Pauillac that has lively acids, a pure, seamless, layered mouthfeel, building yet perfectly ripe tannins, and that rare Latour mix of power, austerity, and elegance that makes this château so compelling. Pulled from just 36% of the total production, the 2016 is 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot hitting 13.5 alcohol with an IPT of 83. It's primarily academic at this stage, but it's starting to round the corner and clearly, with its level of fruit and overall balance, offers pleasure. I think it needs another 5-7 years to hit the early stages of its prime drinking window and will have 75-100 years of overall longevity.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

100

byJane Ansonthe3/5/2025

Impressively precise and muscular, no question that this needs longer in the bottle before really being ready to drink, but everything is in place for decades of pleasure. Smart timing of this release, a vintage that underlines without question just why Latour is so revered, and why there is a clear logic to holding it back at the estate for almost a decade, allowing the first part of its ageing cycle to take place under fully controlled conditions. Very much a classic Pauillac, with confidence and character, waves of mint leaf, coffee bean, cola, crushed rocks, crayon and liqourice root, opening up to show fragrant nuances of rose petals and peony.

Vinous

100

byNeal Martinthe3/5/2025

The 2016 Latour is a vintage that I have tasted a couple of times post-bottling. On one occasion, it warranted a perfect score, but that was then moot since this vintage had not been released. Now that it is due to hit the shelves this coming March, does the wine still merit that three-digit accolade? Without question, yes. Deep lucid deep purple in color, it seems to shimmer in the glass. The bouquet plays with you, a bit of a femme fatale, distant for the first few minutes. Then, it magically coalesces and gains incredible intensity with blackberry, pencil lead, background hints of oyster shell and notes of Japanese wakame. The aromatics announce exactly which château you are doing business with. The palate is medium-bodied with filigreed tannins, again, as I found before, blessed with beguiling symmetry and ineffable poise. Residing firmly on the black side of the fruit spectrum, there is underlying mineralité. Veins of cassis run through the persistent finish. This is everything you could really wish for in a Latour. The 2016 can be uttered in the same breath as the 1900, 1924, 1959, 1961, 1982 and 2010. Magnificent.

Decanter.com

100

byGeorgina Hindlethe3/5/2025

A monumental wine from Latour. This isn't yet ready to drink but offers an impactful and promising palate full of muscle, tension and length. A complex nose filled with pencil lead, crayon, cola, mint, dried herbs, violets, and tobacco, layered with cocoa powder and espresso nuances. On the palate, it is both generous and controlled, suave and slick, with an effortless texture that fills the mouth with bright red fruits and cool, stony elements. The wine expands beautifully, with a powdery, fleshy grip leading to a long, mineral-driven finish marked by wet stones, graphite, and cola. Still compact and somewhat caged, the tannins remain firm and structured, almost austere in their tension. It carries a sense of power and poise, but still with supreme charm.

Vinous

100

byAntonio Gallonithe2/1/2025

The 2016 Latour is magnificent. Regal and nuanced, with tons of energy, the 2016 is immediately captivating. The bouquet announces an important wine, a feeling that builds through the wine's mid-palate. There's a real feeling of exuberance in 2016, and yet the wine remains quite classic in its structural composition. Beams of supporting tannin extend the effortless, beautifully persistent finish. Unforgettable.

Jamessuckling.com

100

byJames Sucklingthe1/13/2025

I am dreaming as I smell this wine, perfectly ripe cabernet sauvignon with currants, tobacco and fresh mint. Orange blossoms too. This amazing nose is so complex. Medium- to full-bodied, this has has perfectly integrated tannins that you don't feel but know are there, elevating the wine to another level. It's very drinkable because of its stellar balance, yet the tannic tension gives it energy and seamless texture. A benchmark Latour that reminds me of the 1982 in many ways. Drink or hold.

Vinous

98

byNeal Martinthe8/13/2020

The 2016 Latour has a very pure bouquet that soars from the glass, more floral than its peers, with crushed violet petals infusing the mixture of black and blue fruit; hints of blood orange and camphor emerge with time in the glass. The medium-bodied palate displays supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Powerful and quite burly, this bottle does not deliver the finesse and breeding that previous bottles have shown, simply because it needs a very long decanting. I have encountered perfect examples of the 2016 Latour, and though I did not meet one today, I will do so again. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. 98+

Jeb DUNNUCK

98

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/1/2019

All three releases from Château Latour are brilliant. Starting with the grand vin, the 2016 Château Latour is blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot that represents just 36% of the total production. This tour de force has stunning, classic Pauillac notes of crème de cassis, crushed violets, freshly sharpened lead pencils, and graphite. These give way to a full-bodied, massively concentrated effort that has the austerity, regalness, and stature that puts the hallmark of this incredible estate front and center. With medium to full body, beautiful elegance, and a seamless texture, it’s backward and closed on the palate and in need of a decade or more of cellaring. It should be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage.

Wine Spectator

98

byJames Molesworththe2/5/2019

Densely packed with cassis, blackberry and black cherry preserve flavors, this glides rather than pounds, with remarkable purity, sleek graphite and tobacco notes, and a long finish that glistens like just-polished steel. Don't think the sleekness means a lack of longevity; this is balanced like a Calder sculpture, and the graphite spine is the bedrock that will let this sashay to being one of the longest-lived wines of the vintage. Best from 2025 through 2045.   –JM

Jamessuckling.com

99

byJames Sucklingthe2/4/2019

The purity and transparent nature to this wine is exceptional. Blackcurrants, licorice and bright blackberries. Elixir-like nose. Amazing crushed fruit. Cabernet splendor. Full body, yet so fresh and pure with super fine-grained tannins that start off slowly and then build upwards on your palate and never end. Racy and thought-provoking. Needs years and years to go. Try after 2026.

Vinous

100

byNeal Martinthe1/24/2019

The 2016 Latour showed in stunning fashion out of barrel. Bottled in July 2018, it has retained a very deep, almost opaque color. The utterly beguiling bouquet features blackberry, graphite, crushed rose petals and a touch of licorice, though this ebbs with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with such fine tannins that the power and backbone of this Latour are barely registered by the senses. There is bewitching symmetry here, and incredible length, plus a persistency on the finish that is enthralling. Is it a perfect Latour like the best bottles of the 1928, 1961, 1982, 2000 and 2010? I think it might be. The 13.5% alcohol is a whole percentage point less than the 2010, making it more approachable.

Vinous

100

byAntonio Gallonithe1/21/2019

The 2016 Latour is epic. A wine of exceptional balance, the 2016 manages to convey both power and finesse to a degree that is exceedingly rare. Although naturally very young, the 2016 possesses remarkable drive and vertical thrust, with more than enou freshness and energy to give the wine a sense of real vitality. Lavender, spice, graphite, plum and smoke develop in the glass, but above all else, the 2016 Latour is a wine of total completeness. Don't miss it.

Wine Advocate

100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe11/30/2018

Château Latour’s 2016 grand vin is a knockout—perfectly encapsulating the estate’s paradoxical signature of at once possessing jaw-dropping power with hauntingly gorgeous fragrance and finesse: Bordeaux’s iron fist in a velvet glove. Very deep purple-black in color, the nose of the 2016 Latour is quite closed to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, red roses and violets with Indian spices, blueberry compote, blackcurrant cordial and cigar box plus wafts of pencil lead and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the mid-palate explodes with densely packed black fruits and tons of earth, mineral and spice accents, with a super ripe, fine-grained frame and seamless freshness, finishing very long and seductively perfumed.

WeinWisser

20

byTjark Witzgallthe5/22/2017

92,9 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 7,1 % Merlot (kein Cabernet Franc und Petit Verdot im Grand Vin). UndurchsichtigesPurpur mit schwarzer Mitte und lila Rand. Dicht verwobenes, blau- und schwarzbeeriges Bouquet, das eine nendliche Tiefe und kühle Aristokratie anzeigt: Süsse Heidelbeeren, dahinter Brombeeren, Veilchen, würziges chwarzbrot, viel Cassis und edelste Röstnoten. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit reifem, engmaschigem Tanningerüst, das Kraftpaket explodiert mit gewaltiger Konzentration von Cassis und Holunderessenz, gepaart mit Frische und ineralik. Das ewig lange Finale endet auf schwarzen Oliven, Wacholder und Wildkirschen. Ganz grosses Latour- Kino für die Ewigkeit!

Bettane & Desseauve

98

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/3/2017

Plus viril et énergique à la naissance que 2015 et construit sur des tannins fermes, minéraux, comme on les aime dans cette propriété. 87% de cabernet sauvignon et 12% de merlot.

Wine Advocate

98-100

byNeal Martinthe5/2/2017

The 2016 Latour is a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot (no Cabernet Franc of Petit Verdot this year). The IPT is 83 and the alcohol a modest 13.5%. It represents 36% of the total production of the estate. Wow... this is some nose. It contains brilliant delineation and an unbridled sense of mineralité and terroir expression. It is not powerful per se, quite succinct and perhaps more detailed than the 2005 Latour that I tasted alongside. The palate is medium-bodied and incredibly precise. You are overcome with the sense of a wine running like clockwork, like a Swiss watch--think Piaget. It is bestowed with astonishing length and yet there is a sense of weightlessness and precision that beckons you back for another sip. It is simply one of the best examples of Château Latour that I have tasted from barrel over the 20 years that I have been tasting at this address.

The Wine Cellar Insider

99-100

byJeff Levethe4/27/2017

Each vintage has a signature and this one is a combination of volume, intensity, purity, complexity, freshness and silky, salty tannins. The wine coats your palate with mineral-driven fruit that stays with you for over 60 seconds. The finish shifts from fruit to stone and back to fruit again. This is elegance with refinement and it has the ability to age for decades. The wine was produced from blending 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot, reaching 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.75. The harvest took place September 22 to September 30 for the Merlot and October 7 to October 19 for the Cabernet Sauvignon.Only 36% of the production was placed into the Grand Vin. 

Vinous

97-100

byAntonio Gallonithe4/26/2017

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2016 Latour is dazzling from the very first taste. The 2016 packs serious flavor intensity despite its 13.3% alcohol. Seamless and opulent yet built more on finesse than power, the 2016 is shaping up to be magnificent. Rose petal, lavender and a host of floral and spice notes round out this magnificent, regal Pauillac. The Grand Vin is 26% of the harvest.

Decanter.com

98

byJane Ansonthe4/25/2017

The 2016 blend is 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot, with an IPT of 83. It represents 36% of the overall production. At this stage, you are almost as aware of how much is being held back as how much is being revealed. The power in reserve is thrilling, even more so because although there is a lightness and florality running through the palate, it sacrifices none of the Latour signature. This is more 2005 then 2010 in expression, a beautiful wine with an amazing style that has the length and texture of the great vintages, freshened up by exceptional salinity on the finish. Fine, fine tannins, crushed tobacco and mint leaves, a momentum that is unmissable and more 'Latour' than the 2015 was at this stage. Hélène Génin is the winemaker and Vincent Masson (son of Pierre Masson) is the estate's biodynamic consultant. This vintage is 50% biodynamic for the grand vin (entirely organic), but from 2017 that is being extended to 100%. My guess is that we should expect to wait eight or so years before they put this on the market. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050

matthewjukes.com

20

byMatthew Jukesthe4/25/2017

this wine is not able to be purchased En Primeur. Everything grown here is now organic and from 2017 all of the Enclos will be biodynamic. (92.9 Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.1 Merlot) | 13.5% alc. | 83 IPT | 36% of production. Tasted with Hélène Genin, technical director at Latour. With amazing density of cassis flavours and huge tannic power, this is a massively concentrated but not heavy or alcoholic Latour. There is a magnum’s worth of structure in this bottle and the grainy tannins are fit and bristling with energy. In addition, there is exoticism and beautiful touches of scent and musk here, too. Awesome from every angle, this is a wild wine with immense precision and attack. It is less fruit-driven than the 2015 but it is more profound and also immensely long. Perfect wines come in all shapes and sizes – this is a uniquely perfect Latour. 20++

Decanter.com

98

byJane Ansonthe4/24/2017

The 2016 blend is 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot, with an IPT of 83. It represents 36% of the overall production. At this stage, you are almost as aware of how much is being held back as how much is being revealed. The power in reserve is thrilling, even more so because although there is a lightness and florality running through the palate, it sacrifices none of the Latour signature. This is more 2005 then 2010 in expression, a beautiful wine with an amazing style that has the length and texture of the great vintages, freshened up by exceptional salinity on the finish. Fine, fine tannins, crushed tobacco and mint leaves, a momentum that is unmissable and more 'Latour' than the 2015 was at this stage. Hélène Génin is the winemaker and Vincent Masson (son of Pierre Masson) is the estate's biodynamic consultant. This vintage is 50% biodynamic for the grand vin (entirely organic), but from 2017 that is being extended to 100%. My guess is that we should expect to wait eight or so years before they put this on the market. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050

Jancis Robinson

19

byJancis Robinsonthe4/21/2017

93% Cabernet Sauvignon picked 7 to 19 October, 7% Merlot picked 22 to 30 September and includes 6% press wine. IPT 83. This represented 36% of total production. Very deep, dark colour. Strong minerals and balsam – also extremely ripe – and hugely Latour on the nose. Salty and rich but with amazingly round tannins . Spice and red pimento pepper. Sinews and muscles. Lovely whole. Massive tannin level but fine tuned. Much more finesse than traditional Latour.

Wine Enthusiast

98-100

byRoger Vossthe4/19/2017

Barrel Sample. Reaching for 100 points, this Latour has great structure and power. Almost pure Cabernet Sauvignon this year, it is a grandiose wine, packed with tannins, rich black fruits and a solid core that will allow it to age over so many years. The acidity and crisp black-currant flavor at the end means the fruit can only shine even more as it develops. Superb.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

19

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/10/2017

Couleur sombre, intense, noire et pourpre. Nez très aromatique, fin, complexe, fruité, crémeux, profond. Entrée en bouche minutieuse dans sa texture. Le vin se développe sur un toucher caressant et ferme à la fois tout en fondant. Il progresse ascendant, très savoureux et se livre en seconde partie de palais, profond, noble, un brin austère, mais particulièrement long, parfumé et délicieux.

Jamessuckling.com

98-99

byJames Sucklingthe4/5/2017

A muscular Latour with a vibrant depth of fruit and power. Superb length and polish. Full-bodied, tight and closed. Fine-grained tannins and bright acidity. Steely and edgy. Strong, regal wine.