Critic Review
Battle Royale! Bordeaux 1961, 1982, 1990 & 1995
What more needs to be said about the 1982 Latour? Tasted numerous times, this is the benchmark for the Left Bank. A heavenly nose of graphite-infused black fruit, so precise and focused, with an underlying seriousness that sets it apart from the other First Growths. The palate is utter class, regal and poised, with brilliant structure yet it is not oppressive. It just glides along with an almost crystalline, mineral-driven finish. Yes, perfection. Tasted single blind at the 1982 dinner at Cornus in London.
Neal Martin - 100
Vinous Table: Grouse Club @ Bouchon Racine, London, UK (Oct 2024)
The 1982 Latour is a formidable wine. I really don’t know what I can add to previous tasting notes apart from it is a majestic, powerful, regal First Growth that is endowed with stunning symmetry and, rare for Latour, sensuality. At 42 years of age, it is unquestionably the most consistent of the five First Growths, and only Mouton Rothschild can trump it. Then again, unlike Latour, you never know what kind of 1982 Mouton you will open.
Neal Martin - 99
Cellar Favorite: 1982 Château Latour (Mar 2016)
From the moment it is first opened the 1982 Château Latour is magical. Deep and still vibrant in color, but showing the translucence of age, the 1982 opens with intense, soaring aromatics that hint at what is to come. One taste is all it takes to confirm that the first impression is spot-on. This bottle, from an original wood case purchased on release, is a poignant reminder of how importance provenance is. The 1982 is simply stunning in its beauty. Vivid, multi-faceted and totally sensual, the Latour captures all the best qualities of this famous vintage. In 1982 yields were high, there was essentially none of the sorting that has become de rigueur, and cellar practices were far less ideal on paper than they are today. And yet, the 1982 is simply stunning. What else can I ask for in a wine? Absolutely nothing. Except for a hope to run into it again. Well-stored bottles will keep for another two decades, although my impression is that the 1982 is not going to improve much from here. Actually, it can’t improve. This is as good as wine gets.
Antonio Galloni - 100
A Century of Bordeaux: The Twos (Sep 2022)
The 1982 Latour is the most consistent of the First Growths in this auspicious vintage. Tasted from both bottle and magnum in the UK in recent months, this note comes from an ex-château magnum tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux. It exudes class and majesty on the nose with its copious but brilliantly focused black fruit laced with cedar and graphite. To use a phrase I have written before, it is blue-blooded...regal. That comes through on a palate that has a haunting symmetry and a killer finish that is brilliantly defined and audaciously long, graphite lingering on the aftertaste. Quite simply, claret does not come better than this. Tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux.
Neal Martin - 100
In Excelsis: Château Latour 1887 – 2010 (Jul 2018)
The 1982 Latour has always been a quintessential Bordeaux and a quintessential Latour. This is just as composed and detailed as the finest bottles that I have encountered, bridled with captivating blackberry, graphite and cedar aromas that are brilliantly focused. Perhaps it is not quite as showy as it was a few years ago, yet it is still regal and as blue-blooded as they come. The palate is ineffably graceful and chiselled down to the finest detail. One bottle at the International Business and Wine dinner is perhaps more understated than previous examples, but another in Hong Kong delivers such tension and precision that you can only kowtow before it. The 1982 is a masterful, regal Latour and probably now the finest Left Bank exponent of this vintage. Tasted at the International Business & Wine Latour dinner at Ten Trinity and at the Latour dinner in Hong Kong.
Neal Martin - 100
1982 Bordeaux, 20 Years On (Jul 2002)
Dark red, with an amber rim. Liqueur-like aromas of plum, roasted meat, mocha, tobacco, truffle and burnished oak. Fat, lush and smooth, with explosive fruit and powerful underlying backbone. Massive but not at all heavy. Wonderfully tactile wine, finishing with big, chewy-but-ripe tannins and great persistence. (My second bottle showed even more class and delineation, and rated 98.) Drink during your lifetime.
Stephen Tanzer - 97
