Three Bordeaux First Growths In One Day (2)

I am having significant difficulties with the internet here in France, so I had to break up the last post.

The third stop was at Chateau Latour. They took a different approach to the tasting again. here I tasted the three wines from different vintages. The third wine is the 2011 Pauillac. Unusual for the left bank, it consists of 63% Merlot and 37% Cabernet Sauvignon. The fresh blueberry flavours give in quickly to the acidity. This is a pleasant wine, not big and the finish fades relatively quickly (90 points). The 2008 Les Forts de Latour consists of 66.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. This is a darker wine, with blackberry tastes. It is quite tannic with a very dry, mouth-puckering finish (90 points). The 2004 Grand Vin de Chateau Latour has even more Cabernet dominance, with 90%, and 10% Merlot. There is quite dense blackcurrant flavour on the palate. This is a big bodied wine, with some complexity, such as mocca and licorice flavours. The wine is very tannic and dry. The flavours are interesting, but I don't find the wine totally balanced (94 points).

Tasting at Latour

This first day leaves me a little puzzled. All three chateaux are close together, on similar soil. Yet we have the strong wines of Mouton, the more feminine wine of Lafite, and the brute force of Latour. The winemaking seems to be similar as well. What is creating these differences? Very interesting.