1995 Les Forts de Latour

Commercial director Frederic Engerer told me he is not at all convinced that the late-picked fruit is better in '97. It depends on the site and the terroir, he explained. "In many instances we did not get an important increase in alcohol or acidity with the late-picked cabernet sauvignon." Just 49% of the 1997 crop went into the grand vin, according to director Christian Le Sommer. Le Sommer points out that '96 and '95 are more concentrated and structured than 1997, and that the two earlier years have somewhat higher and roughly equal tannin levels. "But '96 retains a bit more of its fruit today, though it may disappear temporarily after the bottling, as the '95 has done." I found both of these wines among the five or six best wines of their respective vintages. Don't hesitate to buy this estate third wine, simply labelled Pauillac: it has nearly as much Pauillac character as some of the appellation's classified growths, at a considerably lower price.

For the second consecutive year, Latour is an early candidate for wine of the vintage. Drought stress held down yields in '95, and the château expects to bottle about 10% less grand vin than in the previous year. Tannin levels were high in '95 (as high as the press wine in an average year, according to director Christian Le Sommer), but the tannins are ripe. I continue to find a stalky, raw fruit character to this wine that suggests great Latours of decades past.