Château Latour 2011

Characteristics and Tasting Notes of Château Latour 2011

Tasting Notes

Appearance
This wine reveals a magnificent, deep colour with intense garnet and purple hues, sometimes accented by subtle lilac glints.

Nose
The bouquet is remarkably fresh, vibrant and refined. It exudes elegant aromas of black fruits such as blackcurrant and blueberry, intertwined with delicate floral notes reminiscent of elderflower. With aeration, more complex scents of leather, blond tobacco and undergrowth emerge.

Palate
The attack on the palate is subtle and delicate, evolving into a texture that is both fleshy, smooth and structured. The wonderfully silky tannins support a precise, focused mid-palate with flavours of spiced black fruits. The finish lingers, offering power and complexity with smoky notes.

Food and Wine Pairings
This great wine will pair beautifully with characterful meats such as roast lamb, pigeon or duck served in a sauce. For a bolder pairing, it will elegantly accompany a lightly sweetened fruit dessert, such as a raspberry mille-feuille.

Serving and Cellaring
Château Latour 2011 is a truly great wine for cellaring that calls for patience. Depending on storage conditions, it can be enjoyed until around 2036, or even well beyond for collectors, with some estimates suggesting a potential of several decades.

The Elegance and Power of a Great Pauillac from Château Latour

The Estate
Located in the Bordeaux vineyards, the estate takes its name from a fortified tower built in 1331, though its true establishment as an exceptional wine estate dates back to 1718, under the impetus of Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur. Today, Château Latour belongs to François Pinault's Artémis holding company, with Frédéric Engerer at its helm. This Premier Grand Cru Classé stands out for its absolute rigour, its conversion to organic and biodynamic practices, and its commitment to preserving the pure expression of its historic terroir.

The Vineyard
The wine comes exclusively from the historic heart of the estate, known as l'Enclos, a 47-hectare plot located in the commune of Pauillac. This exceptional terroir, overlooking the Gironde estuary, is made up of deep gravel soils resting on a clay-limestone subsoil. The old vines, around sixty years old, develop deep root systems here. The vineyard is farmed with immense rigour, incorporating organic farming methods, biodynamic preparations and horse ploughing to preserve biodiversity.

The Vintage
The year was marked by contrasting weather conditions. A cool, dry winter gave way to an early spring that was warm and notably lacking in rainfall. June brought light, regular rains, followed by two spells of intense heat towards the end of the month. Summer then proved rather cool, with rainfall in line with seasonal averages. Finally, a warm, dry September provided ideal conditions for the harvest, which took place without interruption from 12 to 26 September.

Winemaking and Ageing
After manual harvesting and meticulous sorting, the berries are destemmed and crushed. Alcoholic fermentation takes place over roughly three weeks, on a plot-by-plot basis, to respect the identity of each lot. Malolactic fermentation follows, softening the wine. Château Latour 2011 is then aged exclusively in 100% new French oak barrels for almost two years, refining the structure and enriching the aromatic palette without masking the fruit.

Grape Varieties
84.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot