This is really minerally with crushed stones and dark berries. Some licorice. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a beautiful, tight and focused finish. Such energy, delivered down a straight line.

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.

A blend of 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 0.8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2017 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color and strides confidently out of the glass with classic notes of plum preserves, warm cassis and pencil shavings with nuances of mulberries, pencil lead, Indian spices and forest floor. Medium-bodied, the palate packs a lot of fruit into a very elegant, tightly knit palate, delivering expressive blackberry and spicy flavors with a firm frame of grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long with a peppery kick. LPB

Smells lovely, really aromatic and shining out of the glass, forward and expressive with clarity and precision on the nose full of red fruit and floral scents. Sleek and crisp, this has energy and lifeforce, I love the shape and straightforwardness but it’s the texture that’s so captivating - slightly firm but dense and chalky tannins give the bounce and cushioning on the palate while the fruit is lean and well defined. So well worked, feels careful, controlled, refined and polished. Sophisticated and just so seamless. Extremely young right now, coiled and tense still, direct from start to finish, it needs to slow down and soften and relax. Lovely pure and perfumed red fruits raspberry and blueberries alongside a slightly sharp, bitter grapefruit edge to the tannins as well as graphite and slate which lingers on the tongue and gives the mighty grip that doesn't let go. Stylish and enjoyable. 64 PIT, 6.7% press wine. 45.4% production. Harvest 11 September to 4 October. Technical director Hélène Genin. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

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.

Aromas of minty berries, cassis and plums mingle with hints of pencil shavings to introduce the 2017 Les Forts de Latour, a medium to full-bodied, suave and elegant wine with attractive depth and purity of fruit, supple tannins and a bright, precise profile. This is a classy Les Forts that will offer a broad drinking window. As readers will remember, it mostly derives from dedicated parcels located further inland from Latour's famous "Enclos," next to Château Haut-Batailley.

A step up, the 2017 Les Forts De Latour includes more Cabernet Sauvignon and is 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and a splash of Cabernet Franc. Creme de cassis, unsmoked tobacco, damp earth, and a touch of cedar pencil all emerge from the glass, and it's beautifully textured and medium to full-bodied, with terrific purity and a great finish. While it's a second wine, I suspect it will evolve for 20-30 years.

Forest floor, cedar, tobacco leaf and fresh, dark red berries open the wine. Ripe, sweet tannins, juicy, fresh cassis and plenty of fruit and cigar wrapper in the zesty finish to satisfy a discerning consumer. This wine has a lot of lift but the tannins are soft enough, that you should be able to enjoy this in a few years, and it's going to age well too. The wine was produced from blending 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and .08% Cabernet Franc. Tasted April 201

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.