November 14, 2012 – Wine: 1995 Chateau Latour Pauillac

There are five great wine producers in Bordeaux (the “first growths”) which set the benchmark for the rest of the industry.  They are wines that are sought after and collected world-wide, commanding staggering prices.  These five include Ch. Haut Brion, Ch. Lafite  Rothschild, Ch. Margaux, Ch. Mouton Rothschild, and this wine, Chateau Latour.  It was entirely by chance that I happened upon a half-bottle of the 1995 Chateau Latour on clearance (during the economic downturn) and snatched up a bottle.  (Actually, I ordered two, but the retailer could not locate the second bottle and enclosed a check to refund the missing wine.)  Tonight, I finally had a special occasion worthy of opening such a special wine.  Of course, I had no idea what to expect.  I had enjoyed and abhorred a number of well-meaning Bordeaux wines in the past decade, but only one bottle had even stood out in my memory – a 1982 Chateau Duhart Milon that I opened in 2009.

To describe the flavors of this wine would be doing you a disservice, because it is not the flavors of this wine that distinguishes it from the rest.  Indeed, the flavors are quite complex, with a lithe balance of dark fruits, smoky influences, and mushroom qualities, most of which came into balance after about 75 minutes of decanting.  What was truly remarkable is the way that the wine graces every square-inch of your palette before gliding down the back of your tongue.  Long after you have swallowed the wine you are enjoying the persistent finish.  Every half-hour or so the wine’s flavor profile would evolve, eventually presenting more intensity in the minerals.  Never have I experienced such a wine, and I doubt that I ever will again.

1995 Chateau Latour Paullac