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Goedhuis, March 2023, Score: 93
Deep opaque colour, a medley of dark fruit aromas, summer pudding, deep currant and blackberry overlain by vanilla pod and freshly ground coffee bean. A finely poised attack in the palate, whilst not excessively powerful, it shows great respect to the vintage and has a pedigree that reflects the vineyard location. The tannins give a sense of grip beneath the dark berry flavours and its personality evolves delicately to give a feeling of subtle structure. Entering its drinking window but with further life and development ahead.
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Neal Martin, April 2018, Score: 91-93
The 2017 Les Forts de Latour has a crisp, focused bouquet with blackberry, graphite and cedar, a little tighter than the 2016 last year, a little airier. The palate is medium-bodied underpinned by very refined and supple tannin that lend this a silky texture. I can envisage this being a more approachable Les Forts de Latour compared to recent vintages, with a lovely sense of mineralité that blossoms on the finish. Excellent. 2020 - 2040
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Antonio Galloni, April 2018, Score: 91-94
The 2017 Les Forts de Latour is a dark, sensual wine. There is a real sense of weight and gravitas to the Forts de Latour. Graphite, smoke, grilled herb and menthol notes add to an impression of darkness in this deceptively medium-bodied Pauillac. What a gorgeous and promising wine the 2017 is. The blend is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 0.8% Cabernet Franc.
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Wine Advocate, April 2018, Score: 92-94
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour features beautiful blackcurrants, redcurrants and kirsch overtones with touches of bay leaves, lavender, tobacco, tilled soil, cedar chest and red roses. The palate is medium-bodied, firm, grainy and refreshing with a great intensity of flavors—quite muscular and densely packed—with a nice long, earth and mineral-laced finish.
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Matthew Jukes, April 2018, Score: 17.5
Seriously elegant, rather cultured and less powerful than I expected. This is a rather well made and classy Les Forts and I admire its calm attitude and nicely balanced demeanour. This is a more genial and sensual expression for this wine.
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Jane MacQuitty, March 2023, Score: 93
A floral curl on the first nose, this is an attractive and sappy Forts de Latour, with a fine, elegant, almost chalky aspect to the tannins. Thoroughly charming raspberry and blackberry fruit, fresh earth, cocoa power and slate, with a mouthwatering finish. An elegant feel to this, more evolved than in bigger vintages at the six year stage although still with clear architecture to the tannins. As you sit with it you start to realise just how carefully it is gripping on through the palate, and how fine a wine it is. As with many in Pauillac, Latour found the September rains of 2017 challenging, and two of the plots normally used for the main estate wine are in Forts this year. 6.7% press wine. Hélène Genin techincal director, harvest September 11 to October 4. Drink 2023-2038
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Antonio Galloni, March 2020, Score: 94
Powerful and dark in the glass, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is super-impressive. Black cherry, plum, spice, chocolate and leather are just some of the many aromas and flavors that flesh out as this ample, heady Pauillac shows off its considerable personality. Medium in body, yet with terrific depth and substance, the Forts de Latour is an absolute winner in 2017
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Jane Anson, March 2023, Score: 93
A floral curl on the first nose, this is an attractive and sappy Forts de Latour, with a fine, elegant, almost chalky aspect to the tannins. Thoroughly charming raspberry and blackberry fruit, fresh earth, cocoa power and slate, with a mouthwatering finish. An elegant feel to this, more evolved than in bigger vintages at the six year stage although still with clear architecture to the tannins. As you sit with it you start to realise just how carefully it is gripping on through the palate, and how fine a wine it is. As with many in Pauillac, Latour found the September rains of 2017 challenging, and two of the plots normally used for the main estate wine are in Forts this year. 6.7% press wine. Hélène Genin techincal director, harvest September 11 to October 4. Drink 2023-2038
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LPB, March 2023, Score: 94
A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour has a medium to deep garnet color with a lingering hint of purple. It prances out of the glass with fragrant scents of black raspberries, mulberries, and black currant pastilles, leading to suggestions of lilacs, iron ore, fragrant earth, and black truffles, plus a waft of fallen leaves. The palate delivers an elegantly styled, medium body with fantastically ripe, ever so fine-grained tannins and beautiful tension supporting the intense black and red berry layers, finishing with impressive length and loads of mineral and floral sparks.
“This is so floral!” exclaimed Genin as we tasted the 2017 Les Forts de Latour. She’s not wrong. A very impressive showing for this label, it’s certainly not far off the quality of the Grand Vin this vintage while displaying a very different personality. It goes to show how Les Forts is no longer a “second label” per se for Latour, having developed a unique individual signature. The fruit sources are mainly dedicated Pauillac plots owned by Latour and a little declassified fruit from the hallowed l’Enclos. Notably, this was the last year for Cabernet Franc, which is a minor component in Les Forts de Latour this year. The last of Latour’s Cabernet Franc was pulled out at the end of 2017.
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Neal Martin, March 2023, Score: 92
The 2017 Les Forts de Latour conveys airiness on the nose, reflecting the relatively lightest vintage in recent years. Graphite and sous-bois infuse black fruit, offering a slightly welcome herbaceous/undergrowth tincture. The palate is very well-balanced and will appeal to those seeking a sleeker, lighter style of Pauillac. Not lean by any account, but this Les Fort de Latour is understated, with appealing black pepper and tobacco notes emerging on the finish. Fine.