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Goedhuis, January 2017
Rich sweet dark hedgerow fruit aromas, with hints of sweet fruit cake. This is a powerful wine with great density and structure, naturally powerful, aided by the lovely sweetness of black fruits giving the wine a central core. The youthful tannic density tasted in its youth have now been absorbed in the wine. This remains incredibly intense and youthful, polished, long and fresh on the finish. High class.
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Goedhuis, April 2009, Score: 92-94
Discreet on the nose, but utterly expressive on the palate, this 2008 offers lots of fine, silky tannins that nonetheless pack a Pauillac punch. Stylish yet immense, this wine should age brilliantly well.
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Neal Martin, February 2018, Score: 96
The 2008 Latour has a more bold and concentrated bouquet compared to the Lafite-Rothschild, scents of blackberry, bilberry, iris, cigar humidor and cold wet stone that all surge from the glass. This is beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with firm in tannin, a light marine influence infusing the black fruit, a little spice towards the finish with superb persistency. It is an authorative Latour as usual, one now beginning to enter its stride although naturally it will last for two or three decades with ease.
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Neal Martin, January 2012, Score: 95+
Tasted ex-chateau and single blind in Southwold. The Latour 2008 has a reserved, slightly tertiary bouquet that if aristocratic and rather aloof compared to say, Lafite 2008. Yet it has immense focus and tension, mineral-laden blackberry, graphite and cassis. The palate is full-bodied with firm, slightly chewy tannins that will take some considerable time to soften. Clean and crisp with unerring symmetry, yet somehow uncompromising and far less generous than say, the 2009. This will require a couple of decades in the cellar, when that embryonic generosity that is demonstrated in barrel will spring forth.
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Neal Martin, October 2010, Score: 95
Frederic Engerer describes this as a mixture of the 01, 02 and 04...he might be right. Tasted at the chateau, 2008 Chateau Latour has an intense blackberry, cedar, graphite-scented bouquet that is very tight at first but opening in the glass. The palate is full-bodied with mouth-coating black fruits infused with a touch of liquorice and black plum. The Latour -08 is underpinned by tensile tannins that lend it a linearity that finally broadens out on the long, persistent finish. Coming back after a few minutes I notice a touch of espresso on the finish. One feels that this could still surprise in a few years-I wonder if this has something up its sleeve? Drink 2014-2035.
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Robert Parker, May 2011, Score: 95+
An extraordinary wine, the classic 2008 Latour (13.5% natural alcohol) is composed of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc (40% of the production made it into the grand vin). Its dense purple color is followed by hints of espresso roast, cassis, burning embers, truffles and graphite. Rich with full-bodied power, beautiful purity and graciousness allied to a voluminous, savory, broad mouthfeel, this beauty will be drinkable in 4-5 years and will keep for three decades. Drink 2015-2045.
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Robert Parker, May 2011, Score: 95+
An extraordinary wine, the classic 2008 Latour (13.5% natural alcohol) is composed of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc (40% of the production made it into the grand vin). Its dense purple color is followed by hints of espresso roast, cassis, burning embers, truffles and graphite. Rich with full-bodied power, beautiful purity and graciousness allied to a voluminous, savory, broad mouthfeel, this beauty will be drinkable in 4-5 years and will keep for three decades. Drink: 2015 - 2045
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Robert Parker, April 2009, Score: 96-98
Damn me for saying it, but I actually think the 2008 Latour will turn out to be even better than the 2005 or 2000. I still have a weakness for the 2003, but it is somewhat atypical in how forward, fleshy, and opulent it is. The 2008 Latour is a more concentrated version of the 1996, and that’s saying something. A fabulous infant, it exhibits an inky/purple color as well as extraordinarily pure notes of creme de cassis, crushed rocks, and flowers. The fact that there is no hint of oak is a testament to the vintage’s density and richness. The wine possesses full-bodied power as well as a boatload of tannin, and it is even more backward than Lafite Rothschild. Nevertheless, the hallmark of a great wine and potentially top-notch vintage is the sweetness of the tannin, and that is evident. The wine is young, unevolved, and incredibly pure (another hallmark of this unexpectedly magical vintage) with an amazingly long, textured, layered finish. It should be forgotten for 5-8 years, and consumed over the following four decades.
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Decanter, January 2018, Score: 98
This takes a heartbeat to kick in, and then the weight and impact of this wine slowly kicks in. Those Cabernets have lift and punch, and although it's not ethereal like the Ausone or even the Lafite, it has power, structure, impact and kick, and you know it's going the distance. It has really lovely menthol notes which play around on the finish, preceded by layers of cassis and liquorice. It's more accessible than many Latours at 10 years old - just give it another couple of years to fully get into its stride. Drink 2020 - 2038.
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Jancis Robinson, April 2009, Score: 18.5
Lowest Merlot proportion ever in the grand vin. The last time there was more than 90% Cabernet Sauvignon was 2004. "Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot don"t complement each other at Latour - Merlot diminishes our Cabernet Sauvignon unless they are very, very old Merlot vines which add texture and density and concentration. The rest dilute it. It"s also probably our taste. I just don"t like these Merlots - I prefer to keep this precision..." Very dark and rich-looking. Dense and purple. Graphite notes and very dense. Some seductive perfume. Then very ripe start with lots of ripeness. Very firm and confident and pure. Fine stones, very precise. Sucky stones. Still very cool, very neat, very fine. Masses of density stops it being painfully dry on the finish. Very fine sleek and dense - well back on track after "07 by Latour"! One of the most polished Latours but very Latour. Very healthy. Health juice.
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Wine Spectator, April 2009, Score: 91-94
Offers currant and blackberry aromas, with hints of flowers. Starts as a slow attack on the palate, then builds with superpolished tannins and pretty fruit, offering berries and mineral. Long and caressing.
