Tasting notes
James Suckling · James Suckling · 96
Blue fruits and lead pencil come through here. Medium to full body. Firm and silky tannins and a crisp and citrusy finish. Nice zest. Floral and fruity. Al dente fruit. Needs four or five years to show its excellence. Try after 2028.
Jeb Dunnuck · Jeb Dunnuck · 96
A blockbuster of a Les Forts, the 2020 Les Forts de Latour is based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26.5% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and aged 18 months in 60% new French oak. Its deep ruby/plum hue is followed by textbook Latour notes of currants, melted crayon, graphite, and lead pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, dense, and concentrated on the palate, it has a powerful, structured mouthfeel, remarkable purity, perfectly ripe tannins, and a great, great finish. It might be the finest Les Forts I've tasted. Hitting 13.1% alcohol, it's approachable today yet has another 30 years of longevity.
Jane Anson · Decanter · 95
Love the texture and depth on display from the first momebt, a brilliant vintage to track down a bottle of Les Forts de Latour. This is packed with delicious and sappy blackberry, damson and cassis fruit, coupling concentration and elegance. 3.67ph. 60% new oak for ageing. Hélène Genin technical director and estate manager.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW · Wine Advocate · 95
A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26.5% Merlot, and 3.5% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple colored. The nose is very closed to begin, slowly offering glimpses at crushed blackberries, mulberries, and cassis notes, followed by hints of aniseed, black truffles, and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is very tightly wound with loads of vibrant black fruit and earthy layers and a firm, grainy backbone, finishing long with a compelling lift.
Neal Martin · Vinous · 95
The 2020 Les Forts de Latour has a fresh, delineated, precise and focused bouquet of graphite-infused black fruit. The oak is neatly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with sapid black fruit, fine depth and ample grip. This builds momentum toward a structured finish, with a dash of spice lingering on the aftertaste. Excellent. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Antonio Galloni · Vinous · 95
The 2020 Les Forts de Latour is superb. Hints of gravel, dried herbs, game and licorice weave through a core of dark red/purplish fruit. Spice, cedar and sweet pipe tobacco follow. The purity of the flavors is just striking. Initially a touch reticent, the 2020 fleshes out beautifully with a bit of air. I would give this at least another year or two in bottle. A magnificent Forts de Latour.
Georgie Hindle · Decanter · 95
Beautiful almost sweet violet fragrance, so floral, pot pourri. Round and supple, a lovely weight and texture, warming fruit, deep and concentrated with fleshy, sweet, chewy and mouthwatering tannins, all combing to give a complete and enjoyable expression. Still a touch tight on the finish suggesting this has got plenty more life and potential to age well. What does strike me is how polished it is, it’s finessed but also shiny, sleek, elegant and stylish. I really like this. 79 IPT. 5.1% press wine. 44% production.
William Kelley · Wine Advocate · 94
The 2020 Les Forts de Latour is composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26.5% Merlot and 3.5% Petit Verdot, incorporating a 64-hectoliter tank of Merlot that would normally have been included in the Grand Vin but which didn't fit with this year's blend. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of minty cassis, plums, licorice, pipe tobacco and vanilla pod, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and velvety, with terrific depth at the core and a somewhat more textural, granular profile than the suave 2019.
