Château Latour releases 2017 vintage onto the fine wine market

Château Latour has launched its 2017 vintage onto the market ahead of the 2016 vintage, making it the youngest vintage from the esteemed Bordeaux chateau currently on the market.

The Pauillac-based First Growth, which is owned by Artémis Domaines, is one of the few great estates that does not offer its wines en primeur, having left the system back in 2012 in order to age its wines for several years prior to release. (although prior to this decision, the chateau had held back wine for a decade or more in order to ‘re-release’ it later)

Ordinarily, the 2016 would have been released first but this has been held back and it was the Chateau Latour Premier Cru Classe, Pauillac 2017 that was released in the UK yesterday (19 March). This is available to the UK market at £4,800 for case of 12x 75cl, Liv-ex said, at a £1,500 reduction on the release of the 2015 vintage a year ago, which hit £6,300 per case.

Although the 2017 was well-received by the critics, with Neal Martin of Vinous calling it “utterly compelling” and “superb”  and it garnering 96 points from Antoni Galloni, and 98 from Jane Anson and Lisa Perrotti Brown MW of The Wine Independent, according to Liv-ex the 2017 falls below its “Fair Value’ line’. The fine wine marketplace points to the 97-98 scoring 2012 vintage,  as offering better value at a 7.9% discount on the newly released 2017, for example.

The estate has also released its second wine, Les Forts de Latour 2018 at £2,000 (per case of 12 bottles in bond).

Read more:

Latour de force: Has Latour’s en primeur exit paid off?

King of fine wines, Château Latour 2010 re-released,