2009 Ch. Latour, Pauillac

Perfect. Simply perfect... I contemplated just leaving my note as just that as I really don’t know how to describe this astonishing wine beyond that. The balance between power and finesse, the hugely concentrated black/red juice, the ridiculously fine-textured tannins and the astonishing length totally took my breath away. This is now the finest wine I have ever tasted En Primeur and does eclipse its fabulous 2005. Pure. Precise. Perfect.
(Simon Staples, BBR Sales & Marketing Director)

Black red, huge concentration of black fruits and great purity, wonderfully fragrant nose with wild violets and lifted freshness, great length and perfect texture, totally Latour and all the fruit and vineyard will come out over the years. (91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.7% Merlot)
(Steven Spurrier - Decanter - Apr 2010)

Very deep and glowing crimson. Very rich and sweet ink on the nose. Wonderfully gorgeous and lush on the front palate. Then lots of heat and richness. Amazing power of fruit on the mid palate gives way to extremely pronounced tannins. Transparent, mellifluous, spicy. Violets, says Engerer. Dry Taylors port? Latour backbone. Glossy ripe fruit. Candied violets. Maybe in 03 we went overboard. Enormous energy. Very impressive.
(Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com - Apr 2010)

A blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot with just under 14% natural alcohol, the 2009 Latour is basically a clone of the super 2003, only more structured and potentially more massive and long lived. An elixir of momentous proportions, it boasts a dense purple color as well as an extraordinarily flamboyant bouquet of black fruits, graphite, crushed rocks, subtle oak and a notion of wet steel. It hits the palate with a thundering concoction of thick, juicy blue and black fruits, lead pencil shavings and a chalky minerality. Full-bodied, but very fresh with a finish that lasts over a minute, this is one of the most remarkable young wines I have ever tasted. Will it last one-hundred years? No doubt about it. Can it be drunk in a decade? For sure.

Proprietor Francois Pinault and his director, Frederic Engerer, have pulled out all the stops to produce one of the most monumental Latour’s ever made.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - February 2012)

This is incredibly floral on the nose, with violet and lilac as well as dark and ripe raspberry and blueberry. Full-bodied, with a dense and incredibly rich palate yet held back and in reserve. Such precision and beauty. It lasts for minutes on the palate. This reminds me of the 1990, but better made and better raised. It is really the style of Latour, where the tannins grab you at the end. This will most likely be a perfect wine.
(James Suckling - Wine Spectator - March 2010)