Bizarre as it may sound, the 2010 Les Forts de Latour is also the finest I have ever tasted from this selection, which comes from specific vineyards, not really so much a second wine as just another wine from estate holdings. A blend of 72.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27.5% Merlot that represents 40% of the production, this astonishing wine hit 14.3% natural alcohol. Extremely ripe and rich, it reminds me of the 1982 on steroids (and that wine is still drinking great 30 years after the vintage). Sensational notes of graphite, crushed rocks, black fruits, camphor and damp forest notes are present in this expansive, savory, full-throttle wine, which is better than many vintages of the great Latour itself from the past. (That may be a heretical statement, but it’s the truth as I see it.) This wine needs a good 5-6 years of cellaring and should age for three decades at minimum, given the fact that the 1982 is in terrific form and wasn’t this concentrated or prodigious. - Robert Parker

Aromas of currants, blueberries and blackberries with a dark chocolate undertone. Perfumes and beautiful. Full body, with velvety tannins that are fine-tuned and tentative. It lasts for minutes. Gorgeous fruit and richness. Perhaps the greatest Les Fort ever? Try in 2018.

Very deep garnet-black in color, the 2010 Les Forts de Latour is a blend of 64.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5.5% Petit Verdot. After a little swirling, notes of plum preserves, crème de cassis, dark chocolate, espresso, and Indian spices erupt from the glass, plus suggestions of menthol and cedar. The medium to full-bodied palate is completely coated with densely packed black fruit layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length. Developing very slowly, this Les Forts is still just shy of its ideal drinking window. Give it another 4-5 years in bottle, and then drink it over the next 20+ years.

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. This is a very strong performance from Les Forts de Latour. It has a vivacious bouquet with ripe blackcurrant, raspberry, cedar and mint scents, very ripe and opulent with layers of discretely embroidered vanillary new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, well judged acidity and a sophisticated, graphite finish with a long cedar and sous-bois influenced tail. Excellent.

A solid, briary, grippy, tarry Pauillac, with a sappy edge to the kirsch, blackberry, plum skin and steeped fig notes, liberally laced with anise and tar. Shows good energy through the finish, with a cassis bush note echoing. Best from 2017 through 2035. – JM

Coffee, oak, earth, blackberry and licorice, the wine is dense, concentrated and lush. There has a strong Pauillac character, with stunning intensity and purity of fruit. With the exception of 1982 and 1990 Latour, this is better than any vintage of Latour between 1967 and 1994. Wow!

Pretty high aromatics on the first nose, peony and violet edging, extremely accomplished on the palate, although acidity is a little higher than in others in the appellation. Gives a sense of grip and tension, a fairly dramatic Forts de Latour. It settles, and this is a wine that is packed with layers, extremely complex, hard to pick apart the competing forces of fruit, spice, earth.