1990 Latour, 1er Cru Classe Pauillac

Tasted blind at The Arches. Poured from magnum, the 1990 Latour is a tour de force. It displays immense purity and precision on the nose with graphite and tobacco scents, a hint of dried rose petal and mahogany bureau developing with time. The palate is surprisingly backwards considering that it is already over two decades old. It is underpinned with very well judged acidity that lends it poise and grace. But the headline is simple the unadulterated, astounding exhibition of Cabernet Sauvignon that drives the 1990 forward to its intense crushed stone finish where you can almost taste those Pauillac pebbles. Although I have encountered a couple of mis-firing bottles, this is the real deal. Tasted February 2012.