Les Forts de Latour 2004 is the second wine of Château Latour, one of Pauillac’s benchmark estates, and it’s built in a recognizably “Latour” style while offering earlier accessibility than the grand vin. The blend is Cabernet-led—about 74–75% Cabernet Sauvignon with 25–26% Merlot—and it is matured in roughly 50–60% new oak. At 13% alcohol, it sits firmly in a classical Bordeaux register for the era.

The strongest review comes from Decanter, which awarded an excellent 94 points and found the wine “charming from the outset,” citing “moderate concentration of blackcurrant fruit” alongside “notes of cedar and Havana cigar.” Decanter also notes “a lively freshness and enough substance to carry it to a surprisingly long finish,” adding an important context point: the “higher proportion of Merlot than in the grand vin… and lower percentage of new oak ageing seem to have made the wine more approachable at this age.” In that tasting, it was “ranked first in its flight.”

Across other critics, the profile is consistent: ripe fruit, classic Pauillac markers, and structure that still matters. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (90 points) describes a “deep ruby/purple hue” with “classic evolved cedary, lead pencil, and cassis characteristics” and a “beautiful sweetness of fruit,” emphasizing that it is “more forward… than its big sibling,” with a suggested drinking window of “the next 15+ years.”

Vinous (Stephen Tanzer, 91) leans into texture and complexity—“blueberry, plum, leather, tobacco and mocha,” with a “creamy, fine-grained texture” and a “very plush” mid-palate, finishing with “big but ripe tannins.” Wine Enthusiast (91) calls it “fresh, lively and vital,” with “vibrant blackberry fruits,” while Wine Spectator (90) notes “chewy tannins” and a “long finish,” characterizing it as “a bit austere” but supported by sufficient depth.