Les Forts de Latour 2004

Tasting Notes and Advice for Les Forts de Latour 2004

Tasting

Appearance
This wine reveals a bright, deep colour, almost black, illuminated by subtle orange highlights that bear witness to its evolution.

Nose
The bouquet displays remarkable purity, carried by vibrant fruit. It offers fine aromatic complexity, combining intense notes of black fruit before revealing elegant hints of cedar, blond tobacco, mocha and chocolate.

Palate
From the first sip, the palate proves full-bodied, round and velvety. The wine's richness is underpinned by lovely freshness and ripe, highly elegant tannins, leading the tasting towards a remarkably persistent finish.

Food and wine pairings

This red wine will pair beautifully with richly flavoured meats such as grilled rib of beef, roast lamb or a rack of veal. It will also enhance game dishes and mushroom-based sauces, as well as matured cheeses like Brie de Meaux. To round off the meal, it pairs perfectly with dark chocolate or coffee-based desserts.

Serving and cellaring

Coming from an outstanding vintage, Les Forts de Latour 2004 is a wine built for long-term cellaring. It can be enjoyed now or laid down to reach its peak, and will drink well until around 2030. To fully appreciate its complexity, it is highly recommended to decant it for two hours before serving.

The elegance and depth of a Pauillac from Château Latour

The estate

Located in the celebrated Bordeaux region, the estate's true vineyard took shape around 1680, although its defensive tower dates back to the Middle Ages. Classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé in 1855, Château Latour now belongs to François Pinault through his holding company, Artémis Domaines. The estate stands out for its exceptional terroir and strong environmental commitment. A true mark of prestige around the world, the estate produces wines of remarkable longevity and consistency, embodying the absolute excellence of its appellation.

The vineyard

Situated in the prestigious Pauillac appellation, the estate covers 96.5 hectares. The vines benefit from a unique terroir made up of gravel on the surface and clay beneath, providing excellent water regulation thanks to deep root systems. The immediate proximity of the Gironde estuary creates a protective microclimate. Farmed entirely organically with biodynamic practices, the vineyard dedicated to this second wine comes from specific plots outside the historic heart of the estate, from young vines, as well as from certain carefully selected vats.

The vintage

The year 2004 was marked by highly contrasting rainfall, alternating between periods of heavy precipitation and pronounced dry spells. The Merlot flowering took place under ideal conditions between late May and mid-June. September then brought warm, sunny weather, with temperatures exceeding 25°C for more than twenty days. The harvest, among the longest in the estate's history, stretched from late September for the Merlot to mid-October for the Cabernet Sauvignon, picked under cool, damp conditions that nonetheless yielded grapes of great richness and fine tension.

Winemaking and aging

As soon as they arrive at the winery, the grapes are destemmed and lightly crushed. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, allowing for extremely precise plot-by-plot management. Les Forts de Latour 2004 is then aged in oak barrels, 50 to 60% of which are new, for around eighteen months to refine the tannic structure and enrich the aromatic palette.

Grape varieties

This wine is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot.