Château Latour – Martillac
Château Latour Martillac
Vintage: 1999
Region: Pessac-Léognan, Graves, France
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Alcohol: 13%
Price: $57
If you cellar wine, one of the great pleasures is to pluck out a wine that you have been holding and enjoy it – preferably with friends. I had the chance to do this recently with the 1999 Château Latour Martillac that I acquired from The Wine Shop in Calgary. I chose to share this with some industry associates as often, I am tasting their wines and haven’t actively reciprocated. I made the decision to select the 99 Latour Martillac for a couple of reasons. For this vintage, it was suggested by critics that this wine probably would have hit its peak somewhere in 2007 which made me want to consume it while it still had some life. Also, the chance to consume older vintages of any wine (especially Bordeaux) is a tremendous opportunity for professionals and enthusiasts alike. It is a unique experience that doesn’t often present itself.
There was a bit of nervousness when I took the foil cap off the bottle. The fear of cork taint or oxidization is always a reality but fortunately this bottle was without fault. I was anticipating some signs of age however the body on this wine was violet trailing ever so slightly to its edges. So much for thinking this one was on the decline! The nose was presenting hints of barnyard and caramel with plums / prunes being the primary fruit aromas. It also had characteristics of torched earth and tar. We tested a little bit and decided to decant to allow it to open further. On the palate, the wine was out of this world, showing off complex layers of elegant, dark red fruit flavors with smooth dark tannins on a epically long finish. Overall, the entire experience was very old world in its style with the nuances and intricacies being the highlights rather than over extracted fruit. The wine evolved considerably over the one or so hours it was decanted, and after about 30 minutes, the tannins had softened considerably which added to the experience.
It is moments like these that make cellaring wine rewarding. When you can share something that you have kept under your care and the experience is enjoyable, it is impossible for it not to be memorable. I hope those I shared it with look back on its consumption with the same happy thoughts as I do.
91 points
- Château Latour – Martillac
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on October 14th, 2009
- Rating:
- 91 Points
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
St. Supéry Élu
I decided to check out the selection of wines at a corner market near where I was staying. Amongst the Bud Light Lime and other various malt beverages, I came upon a small but modest wine section.
-
Travaglini Gattinara Riserva
Typically, this is a 90 + point rated wine from Wine Spectator. It is an excellent example of an outstanding medium bodied Nebbiolo from Northern Piedmont in Italy, delivering a slightly hard candy, floral bouquet with a orangish hue.
-
Cork Fine Wine Tasting Series featuring Argyle Wines
Argyle Wines has been called by Wine Spectator as “Oregon’s Premier Winery” and routinely receives ratings in the 90 + rating levels from its critics.
-
2008 Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival
For the third straight year, editors from Reading for New Times attended the Calgary stop of the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival. The festival brings Calgarians a taste of some of the finest wines, beers and spirits being offered in the city……
-
MSTRKRFT with the Small Town DJ’s
These two chaps are technicians as evidenced by their ripping through their superbly crafted eclectic set. My toes were tapping and feet moving the whole time. They had some sound troubles but worked through them with ease.
-
Sustainable Dining at Red Door Bistro
Using local and provincial producers, Red Door Bistro has tried to ensure that where possible, their materials are as organic and are as free from hormones, pesticides and all those other undesirable ingredients as possible.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
