So much violets, licorice, pencil, flowers and currants define this on the nose before it moves to fresh mushrooms. It’s full-bodied yet compacted with tension and a compressed center palate. Incredible, fine-grained tannins and energy. The length is truly great. Should be even more beautiful in 2024. Give it time.

The 2014 Latour is one of the very finest wines of a vintage that favored the northern Médoc. Mingling aromas of wild berries and cassis with hints of cigar wrapper, loamy soil, black truffles and classy new oak, it’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated, its broad attack segueing into a deep, tightly wound mid-palate that’s framed by powdery, chalky tannins and bright acids, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. This classically balanced, youthfully structured young wine looks set to enjoy prodigious longevity. It’s reminiscent of a modern-day version of a cooler vintage such as 1996, though of course these days maturity is more complete and selection even more rigorous than was the case two decades ago. WK

This shows terrific cut and drive from the start, with mouthwatering acidity and a chiseled graphite note leading the way, backed by a core of pure cassis and blackberry preserves. Licorice snap and sweet tobacco details flitter through the finish, where the graphite edge reemerges and sails on and on. Best from 2022 through 2040. 7,632 cases made. — JM

Showing much better in bottle than it did in barrel, the wine offers a wealth of fruit, which is best described as being regal in character. Yet, as you would expect, most of this stunner is still held in reserve. Freshness, elegance and balance are in charge here. The wine is not about power, it's about elegance, grace and harmony. Nothing is overdone here. It's a great Latour! By the time this is released to consumers, in about 2024 or 2025, it should have added a lot of additional nuances and complexities.

The 2014 Latour captures the personality of the year in its linear, lithe construction. It's a decidedly understated Latour that is more about finesse than brawn. Bright red cherry/plum fruit, spice, mint and sweet tobacco open over time, but at this level, wines are more about a feel, an expression of place and a vintage. The 2014 Latour embodies all the best this cool, late-ripening growing season had to offer. I loved the 2014 when it was first shown, about five years ago, and I love it today. It is a super-classic Pauillac.

Reddish purple rim. Expressive on the nose; cocoa powder, truffle, soft spices, blackcurrant pastilles, black cherries and mint - the best Cabernet aromatics. Great delicacy here, this is so poised and elegant, a touch of soft sweetness to the red and black fruits. Tannins fill the mouth but this is well handled, less plump and round, more direct and linear but with a beautiful fragrance, delicacy and texture that fills the mouth but gently. Still so much juice and freshness as well as softly cooling mint tones. The fresh, vibrant flavour makes you think you could drink it now but it's only the tannins that suggest it needs longer. Still, it's lovely, with such well placed fruit flavours that hits all sides of the mouth and lingers long after the finish. Drinking Window 2024 - 2049
Tasted by Georgina Hindle (at Latour, Pauillac, 08 Nov 2021)
Part of Place de Bordeaux: March 2022 releases

The 2014 Latour has a backward and austere bouquet that does not respond to coaxing from the glass. This is so broody and sultry, only reluctantly eking out pencil shaving and sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, finely judged acidity, quite dense and “solid” at the moment and yet there is elegance and stylishness to spare here. It just needs to manifest more charm and personality à la Mouton-Rothschild, but do not under-estimate this Latour whenever it is released. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. - vinous.com, March 2018