2016 Chateau Latour Pauillac de Latour Magnum

The 2016 Pauillac de Latour Magnum from Château Latour offers a rare opportunity to experience the character of one of Bordeaux’s most revered estates in a generous 1.5L format. As the third wine of Château Latour, it delivers the signature depth, precision and Pauillac typicity of the Grand Vin, but in a more approachable, youthful style. From an outstanding vintage, this magnum is ideal for collectors, celebrations, or anyone looking to explore the Latour identity at remarkable value. Blended from younger vines within the famed Enclos and select parcels just beyond the core estate, Pauillac de Latour captures the essence of Latour’s gravelly terroir and maritime-influenced climate. 2016 is widely regarded as one of the great modern Bordeaux vintages, and this wine reflects that with its purity of fruit, structure and balance, while the magnum format enhances aging potential and drinking pleasure over time.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the 2016 Pauillac de Latour is deep, opaque garnet with a dark, almost inky core and a vibrant, youthful rim. The aromas unfold in layers: blackcurrant and black cherry at the forefront, followed by notes of graphite, cedar, licorice, and crushed stone, with hints of tobacco leaf, leather and subtle floral tones emerging with air. There is a classic Pauillac profile here—refined yet powerful, with that unmistakable Latour polish. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and concentrated, yet remarkably poised. Ripe black fruit—cassis, black plum, and dark cherry—intertwines with notes of pencil shavings, cocoa, baking spice and a touch of earthy savoriness. The tannins are firm but finely grained, providing structure without harshness, and the acidity is fresh, giving lift and length to the finish. This 2016 has the class and depth to evolve beautifully over the next 10–15 years or more in magnum, with the larger format slowing the evolution and preserving its fruit and aromatic complexity. While already engaging and generous, it will gain in nuance, softness and aromatic detail with further cellaring.

Production
Château Latour sits in the heart of Pauillac in the Médoc, overlooking the Gironde estuary, whose moderating influence and historic sediment deposits have created one of the most prized terroirs in Bordeaux. The Enclos, Latour’s walled heartland, rests on deep gravel over clay and limestone, offering excellent drainage for Cabernet Sauvignon while the subsoil retains enough moisture to sustain the vines through dry periods. Grapes for Pauillac de Latour come from younger vines within this Enclos and from select parcels just outside the core holdings, all cultivated with the estate’s rigorous, increasingly organic-leaning viticultural practices. Harvest is carried out parcel by parcel at optimal ripeness, followed by careful sorting to ensure only pristine fruit is used. Vinification typically involves fermentation in temperature-controlled vats, with precise extraction to keep the wine’s tannins fine and supple, and maturation in quality French oak barrels (a proportion of which are used rather than new) to add complexity and polish without overwhelming the fruit.

Food & Serving
The structure and depth of the 2016 Pauillac de Latour make it an excellent match for richly flavored dishes such as roast lamb with herbs, ribeye or côte de boeuf, game birds, or slow-braised beef. It also pairs beautifully with dishes featuring mushrooms, truffles, or root vegetables, as well as aged hard cheeses like Comté or mature Gouda. Serve at 16–18°C (60–64°F); for a magnum, allow a slightly longer time to come up to temperature from cellar coolness. Decanting for 1–2 hours before serving will help the aromatics unfurl and soften the youthful tannins, especially in the coming years. As the wine ages, a shorter decant to remove sediment and a gentle aeration will be sufficient.

Producer
Château Latour is one of Bordeaux’s most legendary estates and a First Growth under the 1855 Classification, renowned for producing some of the longest-lived and most profound wines of the Médoc. Located about 50 km northwest of Bordeaux, in the commune of Pauillac, Latour’s history as a wine-producing estate dates back several centuries, and its Enclos vineyards are considered among the finest Cabernet Sauvignon terroirs in the world. Since 1993, under the stewardship of the Pinault family, the estate has undergone significant investments in vineyard management and cellar technology, including a move toward organic viticulture, all aimed at pushing quality even higher. While the Grand Vin and Les Forts de Latour are globally revered, Pauillac de Latour showcases the same meticulous standards in a more accessible expression, reaffirming the estate’s status as a benchmark producer for Bordeaux and for classic, ageworthy Cabernet-based blends.

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