The 2015 Château Latour is the Grand Vin of this Pauillac First Growth, built overwhelmingly on Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate reports a blend of 97.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.6% Merlot, and 0.3% Petit Verdot, drawn from a strict selection—about 30% of production making the main wine—with harvest running from September 15 to October 10. Decanter notes technical director Hélène Genin and cites “69 IPT,” underscoring the wine’s serious structure.
Aromatically, reviewers converge on Latour’s classic register of cassis, graphite, tobacco, and mineral tones. Jeb Dunnuck calls it a “quintessential Latour bouquet of pure crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, tobacco, and a liquid rock-like minerality.” James Suckling emphasizes the maritime and ferrous side—“iron, oyster shell, rust and stones with blueberries and blackberries”—while Decanter highlights precision and perfume, from “tobacco, cocoa, ash and liquorice” to persistent “floral violet scents.”
On the palate, 2015 is widely portrayed as powerful but controlled. Wine Spectator describes “serious warm dark currant, fig and blackberry compote” framed by “all tensile strength,” and advises “Best from 2025 through 2045.” Neal Martin (Vinous) finds it “cool, calm and collected,” with “finely chiseled tannins” and a “graphite-tinged finish.” William Kelley (Wine Advocate) frames the vintage as “rich and demonstrative,” “supple and elegant,” and adds that while 2014 may ultimately be longer-lived, “it wouldn’t be a crime to drink young.”
Several reviews are plainly excellent. Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider) awards 99 points, calling it “a Latour of elegance, purity of fruit and silky texture,” with “the structure to age for generations.” Wine Enthusiast’s barrel sample also reached 97–99, praising “powerful tannins…never hard, always velvet,” projecting greatness on release. Jane Anson rates it 98 and calls it “a rare Pauillac that is better than the 2014,” a notable endorsement in this era.
