Château Latour-Martillac 2016

Solid, with a juicy yet restrained core of dark currant and blackberry compote flavors that should unwind nicely with modest cellaring, thanks to nicely embedded brambly grip and dried tobacco leaf, anise and tar notes that run through the gutsy finish. Best from 2021 through 2026. 11,800 cases made.

The estate takes its name from the remnant of a 12th-century fort in the main courtyard. Grapes for the red wines are rigorously sorted before fermentation in stainless steel. The 2016 blends 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot, aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, 40% new, produced under the direction of Loïc Kressmann and winemaker Valérie Vialard. Andy Howard MW: Wonderful nose: intense, dark fruit, vibrant yet has a balance of cool menthol. Plush palate, soft, generous ripeness and perfectly integrated oak. Robert Mathias: Smoked wood and clove with richness and generosity of fruit, more open on the palate with a fine texture and very good intensity and freshness. Tim Triptree MW: Ripe black cherry, plum and blackberry fruits leap from the glass, revealing complex cedar, leather and cinnamon spice nuances. Full and opulent fruit palate, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity.

This is very perfumed with blackberry and blueberry aromas, but shows a hot-stone and blanched-almond undertone. Medium- to full-bodied with tight and silky tannins that are extremely polished and beautiful. Love the length and balance to this. Try after 2022.

Deep purple-edged crimson. Lightly herbaceous black fruit, suggesting freshness and finesse. Almost peppery. Very similar on the palate, very Pessac if not typical of Pessac in 2016. Dry finesse in the tannins. Mouth-watering finish. (JH)

The 2016 Latour-Martillac has come together very nicely during its aging. Black cherry, plum, leather, licorice, spice and chocolate give the 2016 much of its racy, extroverted feel. Deep, dark and quite powerful, the 2016 is showing beautifully today. The oak could use a bit more time to fully come together, but that is a relatively small critique for a wine that delivers so much pleasure.

The nose offers sweet red fruit, cherry jam with cassis, mild oak, dry spices and a dense tannic core. Generous fruit, lightly spicy with vanilla and butterscotch, followed by a rather long, opulent finish.

The 2016 Château Latour-Martillac is also terrific and has a structured, medium-bodied, firm style that’s going to benefit from cellaring. Blackberries, graphite, new leather, and a kiss of tobacco all emerge from this nicely textured, pure, layered Pessac. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.

Kunz barrel sample 17: fresh, fruity, spicy bouquet, plum, tobacco, dried fruit, mocha. Silky, creamy, elegant palate with sweet fruit, fine tannins, a finely opulent structure, powerful aromatics, and a long, full finish. Can still improve.

Fresh, fruity, spicy bouquet with plums, tobacco, dried fruits, mocha. Silky, creamy, elegant palate with sweet fruit, fine tannins, a subtly opulent structure, powerful aromatics, and a long, full finish. Can still improve. 17/20 2022 - 2036

A superb vintage all over Bordeaux, and absolutely one that you should be searching out with the Crus Classés de Graves. You can wait for this to soften for sure, because the tannins are pretty racy right now, squaring up to the blackcurrant and blackberry fruit rather than cradling it, but there is such a charm to its confidence that I am pretty tempted to say go for it now with a few hours in a carafe. Liquorice, cocoa beans, crème de cassis, espresso and a ton of brambled autumnal fruits. 40% new oak

The 2016 Latour-Martillac is deep garnet in color. It flies out of the glass with energetic notes of crushed red and black currants, warm plums, and pencil lead, plus hints of black olives and truffles. Medium-bodied, the palate is tightly wound with red and black fruit layers intertwined with mineral sparks, framed by grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing with great length.

Very colorful, intense, harmonious—certainly an excellent price-quality ratio for lovers of long‑ageing, classic wines.

The 8% of Petit Verdot in the blend brings color to this full-bodied, very complete wine, with magnificent creamy, structuring tannins. The finish is mineral. A great success for this cru in top form.

Notes of small black fruits, Zan. Clean, fruity, elegant palate with fine, coating tannins and a lovely mouthfeel. Long finish.

Dense garnet-red with violet highlights. Like many 2016s, Latour-Martillac has tightened up a little, yet still reveals its complexity and subtlety. On the palate, the wine is delicate, charming, and endowed with fine tannins that slowly emerge on the finish and perfectly play their supporting role alongside the acidic structure. The wine is creamy, compact, elegant, and promising.

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. A moderately intense nose with ripe, smooth fruit and a touch of licorice. Its core resembles Pomerol. Juicy on the attack, soft at mid-palate, aromatic and pleasant, slightly restrained in its overall expression, the wine finishes with a light tannic mark on the persistence. Normal length.

A structured wine backed by plenty of black-currant fruits, this is initially austere. Its richness needs time to develop and turn into the classically structured wine that this estate does so well. Drink from 2025.