2012 Chateau Latour a Pomerol (Moueix)

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"Where would I place Latour à Pomerol in the context of the other top properties on the Right Bank? It is probably right up there with estates such as Château l’Evangile, Château La Conseillante and Château Certan de May, to place it in its proper context of top domaines in the commune."
- View From the Cellar, John Gilman

With a family pedigree that includes the Moueix family that also makes Dominus in Napa, Chateau Trotanoy, Chateau Petrus, and Chateau Bel Air Monange, you can expect greatness every year and in every bottle.

About the Winery

Farming the property since 1962, Ets. Jean-Pierre MOUEIX brings the usual care and expertise to the vineyard - entirely replanted after the 1956 frost - and to the cellar.  After a gentle fermentation in concrete tanks, the young wine is aged in 30%-50% new oak barrels depending on the vintage. Between elegance, power and smoothness, the wines of Château LATOUR show a perfect balance. The wine is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

The winery is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Pomerol in the department Gironde. As with all wine produced in this appellation, Château Latour à Pomerol is unclassified, but is estimated among the great crus of the region.

About the Winemaker

Christian Moueix is one of the few producers to make classic wines in both the old and new worlds, Christian Moueix is President of Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, the leading wine company of Bordeaux’s Right Bank, and owner of Dominus Estate in the Napa Valley.

Son of Jean-Pierre Moueix, the legendary Bordeaux wine merchant, Christian was born in Libourne, France in 1946. After completing his agricultural engineering studies in Paris and graduate studies in viticulture and enology at the University of California at Davis in 1968-69, he joined Ets Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1970 and, in 1991, became its President.

A viticulturalist at heart, Christian Moueix’s tenure has been marked by the introduction of revolutionary vineyard techniques including, from 1973, crop-thinning as a means to improve grape quality. Today he produces wine from ten family chateaux including, in Pomerol, La Fleur Petrus, Trotanoy, Hosanna, Providence and in Saint Emilion, Belair-Monange and Magdelaine.

In 1982, Christian Moueix formed a partnership to produce Dominus from the historic Napanook Vineyard in Yountville. Adapting his French technical approach to Californian.

The best vintages of Chateau Latour Pomerol are: 2016, 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2000, 1998, 1990, 1982, 1970, 1964, 1961, 1959, 1955, 1950, 1947 and 1945.

Reviews

Bay, tobacco and mesquite notes lead the way, with a lush core of fig, boysenberry and plum fruit filling in quickly behind. Serious tobacco, charcoal and loam notes give the finish a hefty feel, but there's purity and polish here, too. Cellar for maximum effect. Best from 2017 through 2027. 1,333 cases made.

~ 93 pts, WS

The 2012 Latour a Pomerol is intensely aromatic and beautifully layered in the glass. Sweet herbs, tobacco, raspberry jam, mint and roasted coffee beans are all laced together. Sensual and inviting, the 2012 is all about subtlety and nuance. Super-ripe black cherries, iron, smoke and tobacco add further complexity. The 2012 deftly balances unctuous richness with terrific aromatic presence and delineation. The Cabernet Franc is particularly expressive today. ~ 93 pts, Vinous Media