2018 Château Latour à Pomerol

Winemaker Notes: Superb!  The 2018 Labour-A-Pomerol is fabulous.  Rich, dense and explosive, the 2018 possesses off the charts richness to match its decidedly exotic, opulent personality.  Ripeness is pushed to the edge, and yet the 2018 retains striking balance.  Inky red fruit, cherry jam and sweet spice notes add to the wine’s decidedly flamboyant personality.

(Château Latour à Pomerol, Pomerol, Red) There are full, glass-staining anthocyanins here, the 100% Merlot doing its job of rejoicing in the ripeness. This wine is full of self-confidence with tannins that are serious, well worked and carefully extracted but they don't shy away from the task in hand, which is protecting the young fruit as it ages. It has a big structure but should lose a little of its austerity while ageing. (Drink between 2026-2038)

Latour à Pomerol, which draws its name from the tower that adorns this charming château, was acquired by Mme Loubat, who also owned Château Petrus, in 1917. Jean-Pierre Moueix has farmed the vineyard since 1962.

The vineyard is characterized by the diversity of its soils, which brings complexity and harmony to the wine: gravel and clay for a marvelous parcel next to the church of Pomerol; loam surrounding the château. The vineyard receives the same care applied to all the J.P. Moueix properties: leaf-thinning and green-harvesting to allow for optimal grape maturity followed by a manual harvest. The wine ferments in concrete vats before being aged in oak barrels. Château Latour à Pomerol is known for producing generous, concentrated wines that strike a perfect balance between elegance and power.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


James Suckling - "The 2018 Latour à Pomerol (100% Merlot) is deep garnet-purple colored and offers up beautiful floral notions of lavender and rose hips with a core of black cherries, warm plums and mulberries plus wafts of underbrush, bay leaves and mossy bark. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a muscular core of densely packed black fruits with bright, herbal sparks and framed by firm, grainy tannins, finishing earthy. 94-95pts"


Wine Enthusiast - "This powerful, structured wine is packed with the ripest Merlot, with magnificent tannins and dark-plum flavors. Freshness shines through all this density, giving the wine considerable aging potential. Drink this rich wine from 2026."


Decanter - "There are full, glass-staining anthocyanins here, the 100% Merlot doing its job of rejoicing in the ripeness. This wine is full of self-confidence with tannins that are serious, well worked and carefully extracted but they don't shy away from the task in hand, which is protecting the young fruit as it ages. It has a big structure but should lose a little of its austerity while ageing. "


Jeb Dunnuck - "All Merlot from a tiny parcel on the upper plateau, the 2018 Château Latour A Pomerol is one of the more concentrated, structured wines in the Moueix stable. It offers a powerful, medium to full-bodied, concentrated style that has some oak to integrate, terrific black and blue fruits, notes of chocolate, saddle leather, and earthy tobacco, building tannins, and a great finish. It comes together beautifully with time in the glass and is a serious, age-worthy Pomerol that will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. 93+"


Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "Made from 100% Merlot, the 2018 Latour à Pomerol has a deep garnet-purple color and a relatively understated nose of stewed plums, baked blackberries and redcurrant jelly, plus suggestions of unsmoked cigars, cloves and pencil shavings. The medium to full-bodied palate has a sturdy frame of chewy tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the earth and mineral-tinged red and black fruits, finishing long and savory."


Wine Spectator - "Very silky and alluring in feel, with lovely blackberry and boysenberry puree flavors gliding through, laced with subtle anise and black tea. Savory hints dot the finish while the fruit and spice play out languidly. Drink now through 2032. 2,200 cases made."


Vinous - "The 2018 Latour à Pomerol is effusive and racy right out of the glass. Crushed raspberry, cherry jam, mocha, new leather, spice and cedar fill out the layers. Ripeness is decidedly pushed in the 2018. The tannins are a bit firm, so a few years in the cellar seems prudent. Latour à Pomerol walks on the wild side in 2018. I liked this quite a bit more in barrel."