Château Latour 2015 was released for the first time yesterday (14 March), as part of the Pauillac first growth estate’s well-established strategy of eschewing Bordeaux’s annual en primeur campaign in favour of releasing vintages after several years of ageing.
Decanter Bordeaux expert Georgie Hindle rated Latour 2015 at 98 points, after tasting it at the Château earlier this year. ‘Still youthful and quite serious but there’s something so appealing about it,’ she wrote.
Latour 2015 was priced at £6,300 per 12-bottle case in bond at UK merchant Farr Vintners, and Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, also reported the same release price.
That makes it more expensive than the slightly lower-scoring Latour 2014, released last year. Liv-ex data showed Latour 2014 was released in the UK at £4,950 (12x75cl in bond) and hadn’t moved significantly in price since then.
Hindle previously gave 96 points to Latour 2014, and UK merchant Bordeaux Index was offering six-bottle cases of the wine at £2,480.
Analyst group Wine Lister said Latour 2015 came onto the market above the previous four vintages, albeit significantly below the prices of Latour’s vaunted 2010 and 2009.
‘The iconic reputation of the 2015 vintage may nonetheless spur demand, with existing market stock of the equally-iconic 2010 starting from £1,018 per bottle,’ it said.
It’s also the youngest Latour grand vin on the market, which may spark interest from drinkers and collectors.
‘As always, ultimately the market will decide the success of the 2015 release,’ Liv-ex said. It noted that Latour 2012 might make an ‘exciting alternative’ for buyers looking at back-vintages.
Some merchants have suggested that more fine wine drinkers and collectors could switch on to the value offered by Bordeaux this year, following several years of rising prices in other fine wine regions, such as Champagne and Burgundy, as well as on SuperTuscan wines.
However, there have also been reports of a quieter fine wine market in recent months, alongside assertions of ongoing demand for top wines. One broad indicator, the Liv-ex 1000 index, was down 1.8% in the first two months of the year.
The Château also released their second wine Les Forts de Latour 2017 and third wine Pauillac de Latour 2018.
