Beschreibung:

Château Latour--Vintage 1983
12 bottles per lot
CHÂTEAU LATOUR Château Latour entered into the history books in 1378, at the height of the Hundred-Year war, when the Anglo-Gascon army established a garrison there. The emblem of the Château - its squat, battlement tower, standing in the vines - serves to remind us of those times, when Aquitaine needed protection from marauders and pirates. In the 18th century Château Latour, like many of its highly-regarded peers, started to be recognized around the world thanks to the conquest of the British market, and the flourishing trading routes to Northern Europe out of the Bordeaux river port. The reputation of Latour for making wines of great color, complexity, purity of fruit and longevity was well known by the time of the Médoc and Graves Classification in 1855 and Latour was named as one of only four Premier Crus Classés. Between 1963 and 1993, the Château came under British stewardship, at which time investments were made in the vineyard, vat-house and cellar. Latour returned to French hands in 1993, when it was purchased by François Pinault. In 1999 work began on a further modernization of the cellars and vat room as Château Latour strives to remain one of the greatest wines estates in the world. New vinification systems and a cellar, as well as a tasting room, make Latour a truly modern operation with the most ancient of roots. The 47 hectares which surround the Château, the heart of the estate are called l'Enclos. Only the grapes from these 47 ha make the Grand Vin de Château Latour. This vineyard has a typical Médoc topography, with a gentle rise in the ground, bounded on the north and south by two small streams, and on the east by the Palus, the low lying meadows by the river. But the l'Enclos benefits from a very unique terroir that combines an optimal sub-soil nutrition for the vines, the Gironde river which tempers extreme weather conditions, and a typical Médoc climate, largely influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which allows the grapes to reach maturation under favorable conditions. Today the estate consists of 78 hectares of vines. Château Latour--Vintage 1983 Pauillac, 1er cru classé The winter was mild and rainy, except for a few cold days in mid-February. Budbreak was early on 20 March and the weather then became very rainy until the end of May. From the first days of June, sunny, warm, dry weather arrived, enabling excellent flowering which began on 8 June. The harvest promised to be abundant. July and August were very hot but stormy, and the humidity resulted in a severe outbreak of disease. These conditions continued during the first two weeks of September. Fine weather arrived in mid-September, with three warm months with no rain. The rot was stopped and ripening was able to continue normally. The harvests took place in superb weather from 22 September to 11 October. The harvest was particularly abundant this year at Latour. Tasting note: Not a massive wine, in fact very drinkable. Even in cask though full-bodied it was not vast and opaque. By the mid-1990s, rich, fleshy and fine. More recently, a fragrant, cedary bouquet, sweeter than expected, good fruit and flavour. Drinking most agreeably earlier this century. Ignoring a corky, raw bottle (take no notice of those who say that it is an affectation, a waste of time, to smell the cork after extraction. No so. If it smells of cork, the wine will be corky). Most recently: medium-deep, mature; sweet, 'chewy', oaky nose which opened up richly; sweeter than expected, extract masking tannin. Good but by no means great. Last tasted Sept 2003 *** MB 12 bottles per lot