2003 Latour, Pauillac

“A very flamboyant and exciting Latour. Sliced black truffles, sweet leather, spices, and dark fruits on the nose. Full and powerful, with roasted fruit and leather undertones. Big and velvety, with polished, almost dusty tannins, and a super long finish. This leans more towards sexy than intellectual. Very concentrated.” (02/2011)

“2003 was one of the hottest, earliest Bordeaux vintages ever. Some vines suffered from lack of moisture, but old vines and clay subsoil at Enclos saw this vineyard through. The Merlot harvest occurred between September 8 and 13, and the Cabernet Sauvignon was picked between September 22 and 30. The 2003 Latour is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot. Six percent of the press wine was added to the final blend. It has a medium to deep garnet-purple color, then wow—it explodes from the glass with bombastic black and blue fruits, followed up by meat, wood smoke, sandalwood and Indian spice accents with underlying floral wafts. The palate is full, rich, velvety, seductive and very long on the finish. (LPB)” (02/2019)

“The 2003 Latour is a blend of 81.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 0.5% Petit Verdot. It explodes from the glass with crème de cassis, stewed plums, licorice, and mocha scents, followed by nuances of charcoal, rose oil, and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate delivers surprising elegance and jaw-dropping poise with well-knit freshness and super-soft tannins, finishing with incredible length and grace. It’s a real paradox of a wine coming from this very hot vintage and a testament to the Enclos’ singular terroir. (LPB)” (03/2024)

“What makes a great Latour is a sense of completeness, of restrained power and of levels of complexity that the other first growths rarely achieve. That's why Latour 2003 is a great wine. (RV)” (06/2004)

“Intense aromas of blackberry, licorice, currant and mineral. Full-bodied, with very well-integrated tannins and a long, long finish. Very refined and beautiful. Goes on for minutes. This reminds me of the fabulous 1996. But even better. (JS)” (03/2006)

“Red-ruby. Explosive aromas of plum liqueur, currant, minerals and lead pencil. Huge, lush, sweet and utterly seamless; this has the palate-caressing texture of liquid velvet. About as deep as this extreme vintage gets. Finishes with noble, compellingly sweet tannins and great length. This is amazing wine, and only its exotic character prevented me from giving it an even higher score. (ST)” (06/2006)

“A super perfume here, notes of degraded fruit skins, rubbed on roasted coffee bens, with a vanilla flower purity and complex notes of smoky star anise and cinnamon. The palate has all the broad, forward, exuberant substance of the vintage, polished and full of flesh, with a perfumed edge to the evolving secondary fruit character, all tobacco leaf and sous bois. A nice acid freshness to it despite the reputation of the vintage, but it is packed deeply within the substance of the wine, which dominates the feel on the palate in rather a blunt fashion. The tannins are certainly fading, although they are still here, largely integrated though, providing some frame for the wine. It is the evolving spice-laden perfume that is perhaps most striking feature. A Latour that reflects the character of the vintage as well as the vineyard. 18/20 points” (04/2015)

“Magisterial! Immediately profound on the nose, delivering rock-solid classic bordeaux. So lengthy, so refined. A rich tapestry of flavours from the darkest fruits to the most lifted fragrance. And so lengthy! Truly worth the accolades, and who knew 2003 would turn out so well? 19/20 points (RH)” (03/2022)