1959 Latour, Pauillac

“The 1959 Latour came directly from the château reserves in magnum. Perhaps because of its impeccable provenance, it is deep, almost opaque in color. The bouquet is stunning: black cherries, blackberry, freshly tilled earth, cedar and mint, pure and captivating. The palate is still unerringly youthful with vibrant black fruit, fabulous purity and multi-layered black fruit laced with sea salt and just a touch of liquorice towards the never-ending finish. If you don’t like this, you don’t like Bordeaux (or possibly even wine.) Tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux. (NM)” (11/2020)

“This is a great, great vintage of Latour from an era where the estate was at the absolute top of its game and made one of Bordeaux’s best wines year in and year out, with a track record of consistent excellence that no other First Growth could match. Given the longevity of Latour in this era, it is not surprising that the 1959 is still a tad on the young side at age fifty-eight and takes some extended time in decanter to fully blossom, but once it has opened up, its brilliance is very easy to see. The bouquet is complex, ripe and beautiful, offering up scents of black cherries, cassis, sweet cigar wrapper, a very complex base of soil, tobacco smoke and a nice touch of Latour nuttiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and powerful, with a rock solid core of plush fruit, great focus and grip, really impressive acidity for the ripe ’59 vintage and a very, very long, complex and utterly soil-driven finish. This is a great, great vintage of Latour that comes very, very close to matching the perfection of the 1961 vintage here!” (04/2017)

“Superb, but I have had an even better bottle of this wine; usually it's worth two points more. Equal in quality to the perfect 1961. Thick and rich, with berry, cherry and tobacco character, it shows layers of ripe fruit and velvety tannins that go on and on at the finish. Exciting wine. (JS)” (08/2000)

“Dark garnet with an amber edge, the 1959 Latour reveals a touch of volatile acidity in the nose, along with aromas of melted caramel, tobacco, and jammy red and black fruits. As the wine sat in the glass, notes of minerals, coffee, spice, and underbrush emerged. There is still copious tannin in the finish (I am not sure it will ever be fully resolved), but this sumptuous, complex, fragrant, super-rich Latour cuts a broad swath across the palate. (RP)” (06/2000)

“Dark crimson/ruby. Almost as deep as the 1982. Deeper than the 1961. Very, very fresh, and yet full. Rather old-fashioned, but miraculously lively. Minerals. Wonderful, full, and fully mature impact on the palate. Slightly dry end. Wonderful wine. (JR) 20/20 points” (05/2003)