Chateau Latour 1995
Chateau Latour 1995 is like no other Bordeaux wine. It is in a unique class of its own. Chateau Latour has been the most consistent of the First Growth chateaux from the Medoc for over 100 years! Since 1996, Chateau Latour has been producing some of the best wines in their history! Perhaps the best wine produced in modern times is the spell binding 2009 Chateau Latour. The wine is regal. It’s full bodied, powerful, tannic, pure, and sophisticated in its style. Filled with cassis, earth, truffle, spice and tobacco flavors, Latour in the top vintages require decades to fully develop.
A mild, very rainy winter resulted in an exceptionally early budbreak which, however, continued over a very long period (recorded on 27 February for the Merlot!…and 24 March for the Cabernet Sauvignon). June was hot and dry. The drought continued in an alarming fashion throughout July and August, with three times less rainfall than normal during these three months. The green harvests that took place from 17 July to 4 August helped any overly laden vines, especially the younger ones, to withstand the heat wave. Fortunately, rain arrived on 7 September to “resuscitate” the vineyard and accelerate ripening. The harvests began with the Merlot on 13 September in overcast weather, and ended in fine weather on the 27th, after some rain. However, no signs of dilution were detected in the wines.
The 90 hectare Chateau Latour vineyard has 78 hectares cultivated with vines that are planted to 74.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23.8 Merlot, 1.8% Cabernet Franc and .02% Petit Verdot. This is a slight change in the vineyard makeup as the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon has been decreased, Petit Verdot is almost invisible and more Merlot has been planted in the vineyards. The Cabernet Franc has also been reduced over the years. However, it is imperative to understand that the heart and soul of the Chateau Latour vineyard, located close to the Chateau is a 47 hectare parcel known as “Enclos”. There are many people in Bordeaux that consider those 47 hectares to be the best terroir in all of Bordeaux.
