Chateau Latour 1921

90 VMVinous, Neal Martin, 07-02-2024

The 1921 Latour came from an ex-château bottle, and its provenance was key, plus the fact that, unlike other coeval bottles at the tasting, this one had not been reconditioned. Quite deep and clear in color, there is minor bricking on the rim. The nose is initially ethereal, with vestiges of black fruit, Japanese nori and wilted rose. Slightly confit in style. The palate is different. It's medium-bodied and structured to the point where I would almost describe it as "stolid". Remarkably fresh after 102 years with fine salinity on the finish. But I find it static and aloof, and unlike the 1926 or 1929 that followed, it has no intent to give sensory pleasure. Tasted at the Twenties Latour and Peers dinner at Epure in Hong Kong.

90 WAWine Advocate, Robert Parker, 23-02-1996

Among the renowned five first-growths of the Medoc and Graves, the two Pauillacs, Lafite-Rothschild and Latour (Mouton was not a first-growth in 1921), were the shining stars. The 1921 Latour exhibited the densest color of the Medocs, with a moderately dark ruby/garnet color with an amber/orange rim. Tannin dominated the high alcohol flavors. This wine revealed a port-like texture, with notes of fruitcake, coffee, tobacco, and over-ripe fruit. Although it is losing its balance as the tannin becomes dominant (at the expense of the wine's fruit, this is still a flavorful, full-bodied, intriguing example of Latour that has remained an outstanding wine. Other than a handful of 1921s that ranged from several surprisingly strong examples of Montrose, to old, decrepit bottles of Cheval Blanc, this great vintage has largely escaped my palate. But to paraphrase the late A.J. Liebling, "if you can't afford them, then it's nice to know someone who can." 1921 was one of those extremely hot Bordeaux growing seasons (more recently 1947, 1949, 1959, 1982, 1989, and 1990 have enjoyed similar summers and harvests). Because of high alcohol, low acidity, and a certain fragility to the wines, the vintage has always been considered to be very great, but short-lived.. This flight represented an extraordinary, once in a lifetime opportunity to look at some of that vintage's greatest wines - all purchased from private cellars in Europe in pristine condition. Only the Gruaud Larose had been recorked. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series V - Flight B of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.