2002 Latour

Reviews & Tasting Notes

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Latour took about ten days longer than usual to harvest in 2003. "We took our time," said manager Frederic Engerer, noting that Latour normally picks in two weeks. The merlot was harvested beginning on September 8 to preserve its aromatic freshness, with the cabernet sauvignon coming in between September 22 and 30. Thanks to the thorough ripeness of the skins, said Engerer, "we didn't have to extract too much, and we were able to retain the freshness of the fruit." Engerer added that Latour has been able to consistently ferment at lower temperatures in recent years by "pushing the harvest for riper fruit." The 2003 features a very low 3.15 grams per liter of acidity. Although most early tasters, including this one, consider the 2003 Latour to be one of the top three or four wines of the vintage, Engerer was surprisingly measured in his early assessment of the wine, comparing it to the '89 Latour. Yes, the cabernet reached 13% potential alcohol, which is unprecedented at Latour, he told me. But Engerer also felt that the heat in June and July (even before the sustained period of 100+ degree heat during the first half of August) burned off some of the sugars that normally develop during that period-sugars that are precursors to aromatic complexity. "Two thousand was a perfect growing season," Engerer added, "but 2003 was brutally hot."

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