2012 Chateau Latour Pauillac

Regular price $719.98

Quantity

97 Decanter - This will be by far the biggest release since Latour brought in the new system, as the 2012 has not been on the market before. It's a good one to start with as this is a vintage where the drinking window is starting to come into view. This is pure liquorice, graphite and profoundly dark fruits, gourmet brushed damson and crushed stones, with a silky, appealingly open texture. The tannins are as bracing as you hope for from this estate, not giving an inch yet, but there is air between them and the structure is starting to loosen up. Harvest from September 24 to October 16, under rainy conditions after a super hot summer and early September that ensured the grapes stayed in good condition, but turned the concentration from impenetrable to an altogether more approachable style.

96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - Medium to deep garnet colored, the nose slowly, measuredly emerges with notions of preserved Morello cherries, baked blackcurrants and blackberry compote, giving way to nuances of pencil shavings, unsmoked cigars, Chinese five spice and sandalwood plus ever so subtle hints of cardamom and eucalyptus. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black and red fruit preserves with a firm, grainy-textured frame and fantastic freshness, finishing with a veritable firework display of lingering spices and minerals. This is a more restrained, relatively elegant vintage of Latour that may not have that “iron fist in a velvet glove” power of the greatest vintages but nonetheless struts its superior terroir and behind-the-scenes savoir faire with impressive panache. It is drinking nicely now with suitably rounded-off, approachable tannins, and the tertiary characters are just beginning to bring some more cerebral elements into the compote of temptingly primary black fruits.

95 Wine Spectator - This features a terrific, gorgeously delineated graphite note that runs from start to finish, letting the dark plum, black cherry and cassis fruit play out beautifully. Shows a lovely backdrop of charcoal and iron on the finish. Ever so slightly rigid, with a strong graphite expression, this is straight rather than expansive in feel, but seriously long nonetheless.

***

The 2012 Château Latour is a commanding but unusually refined expression of this First Growth: unmistakably powerful and mineral, yet less massive and forbidding than Latour from a blockbuster vintage.

The Grand Vin comes from old vines in the heart of L’Enclos, Latour’s privileged gravel terroir beside the Gironde estuary. The blend is 90.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.6% Merlot and 0.2% Petit Verdot. Château Latour

Expect:

Blackcurrant, blackberry compote and Morello cherry
Graphite, crushed stone and cedar
Cigar leaf, sandalwood and subtle smoke
Liquorice, violet, cardamom and a cool eucalyptus note
Dense, finely grained tannins and vibrant acidity
A long, controlled, mineral finish

Compared with the 2012 Les Forts de Latour, the Grand Vin is deeper, darker and substantially more structured. Les Forts is already relatively open and graceful; Château Latour remains tightly coiled, with greater concentration, tannic authority and length. Its power is expressed through precision rather than weight.

In 2026, it can be enjoyed with substantial aeration, but it remains a young wine. The fruit is beginning to integrate with early cedar, tobacco and savory complexity, while much of the wine’s potential is still held in reserve. Published assessments generally place it around 96–97 points, with a broad drinking horizon extending to approximately 2050 and potentially beyond.

If opening now, stand the bottle upright beforehand and decant for two to three hours, tasting periodically. Serve at 16–18°C / 60–64°F with rib roast, lamb, venison, duck or other simply prepared, deeply savory dishes. This is a contemplative, slow-evolving wine rather than an immediately generous one.

Shipping Policy

Open tab

Unless your delivery address is on the West Coast, we strongly discourage you from selecting “Ground Service” as your shipping method. During the winter and summer months, weather conditions (temperature) and longer delivery times can often result in the spoilage of your order. It doesn’t make sense to invest in fine wines and then take the chance of ruining them due environmental factors during transit (faster and safer delivery generally isn’t much more expensive). We don’t make an additional profit on accelerated delivery, but we frequently recommend faster shipping options to our customers outside the West Coast.
You must be 21 years of age to order or receive alcoholic beverages. Any shipments containing alcoholic beverages are sent with an “Adult Signature Required” sticker, and the common carrier that delivers our merchandise is required to ask and check for identification upon delivery. This means that an adult will have to be present at the time of delivery. Please consider shipping to an office address.
During periods of extreme weather, we attempt to ship wines at the beginning of each week in order to get shipments to you before the weekend. This is because we have no control over the temperature conditions at our freight carriers’ warehouses. The result may be that your shipment doesn’t go out the day that you place an order.
We ship by Fedex or Fedex Ground. Our prices include packaging materials. Insurance may be available for an additional charge.
Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. will arrange for shipment on behalf of the buyer, to an address specified by the buyer, provided that Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. in its sole judgment believes that such shipment will not subject Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. to the risk of any sort of legal action or other harm. If a buyer lives in a state where the direct shipment of wine by Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. violates the law, we suggest that the buyer provide an alternative address in another state or have their wine shipped to a third-party storage facility in a direct shipping-friendly state.
Various states impose limitations on the quantity of alcoholic beverages that may be purchased and brought into their jurisdiction by a purchaser from another state without requiring the purchaser, a seller or shipper to possess certain licenses or permits. Vintage Wine Merchants, Inc. does not, as a condition of sale, assume any obligation nor bear any responsibility whatsoever for applying or obtaining any permits or licenses. Therefore, we recommend that you investigate the possibility of such limitations, and determine the manner in which alcoholic beverages shall be brought into your state from California, so as to comply with all of your state’s requirements.
Wine shipping rules in the United States are controlled by the state you live in. We do not ship wine to the following states at this time: