Mathusalem Château Latour - Pauillac 2005 b5952cb1c3ab96cb3c8c63cfb3dccaca

Wine Advocate

98 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe6/30/2015

The 2005 Latour (87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) is a spectacular effort from Château Latour. It has an inky plum/purple color and a gorgeous nose of graphite, crème de cassis, and floral notes with some forest floor in the background. It is full-bodied, super-concentrated, and for my taste, probably one of the two or three most intense, rich, and complex wines of the entire Médoc. The wine has great texture, purity and a finish of close to 40 or 45 seconds. The tannins are surprisingly sweet, even in this large-scaled, masculine wine. Drink it over the next 50+ years.

Jancis Robinson

18 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe2/9/2015

Mid to dark ruby – a less impenetrable colour than I would have expected. Savoury, meaty nose. And then some unexpectedly polished tannins. This is far from the monster you might expect from the combination of property and vintage. Quite readable and fine. Quite a surprise. Marked acidity. The building blocks are there but they have yet to be put together.

La Revue du Vin de France

19,5 / 20

the10/20/2014

Le raffinement à l'état pur. Après une heure d'aération, il libère doucement de superbes notes de fruits rouges frais et juteux. La bouche est racée en diable, portée par une très belle acidité, des tanins ciselés et enrobés. Un vin éclatant, doté tanins au grain très fin.

Wine Advocate

99 / 100

byNeal Martinthe6/15/2009

Tasted single blind at Southwold. The first bottled corked! The second has a very deep, spicy blackberry nose with a hint of melted tar but huge lift and power. The palate has a seductive entry, again, incredibly powerful and primal. Blackberry, espresso, bilberry and a touch of dark chocolate. You just cannot escape how backward and broody this Latour is, the awesome persistency on the grippy finish. But this seems to have really closed up over the last few months. Think ‘decades’ for this Latour…Drink 2020-2050+ Tasted January 2009.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

98 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2008

Deep ruby-red. Reticent, brooding aromas of cassis, black plum, graphite and flowers. Then utterly explosive in the mouth, with wonderful sappy complexity of flavor and a thickness of texture that builds and builds toward the back; almost no sign of the new oak here. Offers a near-magical combination of power and refinement, but this extremely primary wine is still an infant. Finishes with extraordinary persistence that leaves the palate vibrating. One of the greatest young Bordeaux I've tasted in recent years, and more complete and classic than the outrageously lush 2003. For his part, Engerer feels that this wine combines the best traits of the 2003 and 2000 Latours. I made the mistake of retasting the 2007 after trying this, and the tannins of the younger wine came off as dry by comparison.

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/7/2008

Only 44% of the production made it into the dense ruby/purple-hued 2005 Latour, a powerful, backward, 12,000-case blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Petit Verdot and Merlot. As I wrote last year, this classic effort is built for the ages, and is largely destined to be drunk by our offspring rather than anyone over the age of 50 today. Complex aromas of crushed rocks, graphite, black cherries, creme de cassis, new saddle leather, and dried mushrooms are still tightly wound. The wine is full-bodied and powerful with exceptionally high tannin combined with zesty acidity, and laser-like focus. It will require 15 or more years of cellaring. I still prefer the 2003, but administrator Frederic Engerer says this “is more Latour.” Anticipated maturity: 2020-2060.

Wine Spectator

99 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/22/2008

Wine Advocate

96-99 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/4/2007

A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot, the powerful 2005 Latour is even higher in alcohol and tannin than the extraordinary 2003 (which I believe is a more generously styled wine). The 2005 is a quintessential Latour built for the ages. Monumental levels of concentration and tannin are found in this dense ruby/purple-colored effort. Aromas and flavors of liquid stones, graphite, black cherries, and cassis emerge from this massive yet fresh, lively, incredibly well-delineated Latour. This offering will test the patience of its purchasers as it will require 10-15 years of cellaring, and will keep for a minimum of 4-5 decades. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2060. Ask just about anybody which first-growth is pushing quality to the highest level, and the majority will claim it is Latour. With owner Francois Pinault giving perfectionist administrator Frederic Engerer carte blanche, this estate has been producing spectacular wines since 2000. New cellars, winemaking facilities, and barrel rooms only add to their ability to produce classic wines. Production is much smaller than at other Medoc first-growths with only 44% of the 2005 production making it into the grand vin.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

95-98 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2006

Deep ruby-red. Cassis, blackberry, violet, minerals and licorice on the nose. Dense and sappy in the mouth, with a wonderfully tactile quality and great finesse but youthfully unforthcoming today. The greatness of the wine can be seen on the almost painfully intense, slow-building, resounding finish, which features major tannic clout, extraordinary texture and breadth of flavor and great verve. You can't scrape this juice off your palate; I had the impression that the flavors were stronger after I had swirled and spit the wine. Engerer believes that the 2005 Latour is a more complete wine than either the 2000 or the 2003 made here. The 2000, he told me, could have used a bit more length, volume and brilliance of fruit, while the 2003 lacks classic aromas. The 2005, he added, has it all. This may well be a wine that lasts a half-century.

Wine Advocate

98-100 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/27/2006

The colossal 2005 Latour (44% of the total production) is a wine for the ages. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, it possesses the highest alcohol of recent vintages. Different both structurally and texturally from the extraordinary 2003 (which I tend to prefer, although Frederic Engerer clearly disagrees), the black/purple-hued 2005 exhibits high tannin, prodigious concentration, unbelievable purity, amazing freshness and vibrancy, and almost surreal definition and nuances for such a young wine. It is a huge, fresh, backward yet incredibly pure effort that represents a modern day classic, but don’t expect the opulence and exotic sweetness of the 2003. It will close down after bottling, and require at least a decade of cellaring before consuming. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050+.

Wine Spectator

95-100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe3/28/2006

Incredible aromas of currants and exotic fruit. Hints of chocolate and cigar box. Very complex already. Full-bodied, concentrated and velvety. Chewy and powerful. Pure fruit. This is superpowerful. It's like a tidal wave of fruit and perfect tannins on your palate. This is a Latour 2000 II. On it's way to 100 points. —J.S.