Here’s the thing: this is good wine. It’s dense, chewy, and structured. There’s a nice balance of red and black fruit, graphite, cedar, mushroom, soil, and just a touch of Brett funk. It’s fairly tannic, so probably best with food, but can still be enjoyed on its own. I would never be mad if I was offered this. I was lucky to take home an open bottle from a job tonight, but I think the price tag on this is ridiculous. — 19 days ago
Light straw colour . Pretty mineral and focused on the palate . Linear with lemon oil , touch of brioche and white flowers . Quite intense on the palate with real focus , very fresh acidity but with enough body to cover . This tastes very young really and probably needs more time to be at peak . Wait another 5 years perhaps and will probably last another 10-15 — 2 months ago
Just a touch sweet, maybe not my favorite at this price point — 2 months ago
1995 vintage. Great fill, foil and label. Perfect cork. From a top-notch cellar. Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Volcanic ash-styled sed vs chunky-style. Big funk on the nose that resolved after 7-8 minutes. Wine was showing decently (in the 69-72 degree range) but lacking any tannic structure. Placed the decanter atop an ice bucket bath to drop the temp down to 60 degrees or so. Took about 20 minutes but the tannins kicked in the door to say hello. Fruit components stayed constant. Pauillac tendencies were all there. As is the case often with older BDX, the decaying matter/leaves at the onset transitioned to graphite/lead pencil and espresso flavors. This was a superior bottle in great shape. Top of this wine’s specific bell curve. Comparable bottles would look to be drinking this well for the next 5-7 years without dropoff. Out of larger format…could possibly push this into 9.4 status. 2.5.24. — 22 days ago
The 1959 Latour is a vintage that I have drunk many times. It contains a payload of irresistible and quite precocious red fruit on the nose with blood orange, cedar and a touch of thyme, beautifully defined. The palate has exquisite balance, poised yet powerful, with a multi-dimensional, profound finish that is one of the smoothest-textured you will find on any Latour vintage. Absolutely divine. Tasted at Arbor restaurant in Hong Kong. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— 5 days ago
Happy Valentine’s Day! Continuing our tradition of pulling one of these each year - 11 down, only 1 more to go after this! Reminder that we need to choose a new case of something soon.
This is excellent as always but I’m not sure hits quite the same high note as last year’s bottle. Fine mousse, nose a bit more restrained. Palate is explosive and so deep with wonderful candied caramelized lemon peel. Wonderful pairing with carbonara! — a month ago
Jay Kline
The fruit for "La Chapelle" is sourced predominantly from Le Méal and Bessards (with a little form Greffieux and Rocoules. Relative to the two Chave’s, the 1988 “La Chapelle” seems a bit more like a Hermitage fastball right down the middle of the plate. Desiccated mixed berries, olives, purple flowers, and minerals with a touch of ethyl acetate. Again a great pairing with grilled lamb and Moroccan spices. Vinous and drinking well now through 2035. — 2 days ago