Chateau Latour Premier Grand Cru Classé 1988

 The other day I was at a tasting with some work colleagues from other shops belonging to the company to which I am working for.

Being for the first time invited in this circle, I soon realized that I often tend to taste with people with whom I have similar references leaving few place for surprises.  

The evening was very pleasant and after a soul warming round of Riesling we have gone to some unexpected Zinfandel with high acidity, wines from direct concurrence shops or some nature wines. On my behalf,  I was tremendously predictable and brought Quinta de Saes Reserva white, which has impressed most of the colleagues as it drove them to tip on Burgundy as we have tasted the wines blind. 

With the evening coming to an end, one of the colleagues has invited me and some others to go to his mom's place as she did not live too far away and he still had  some wines to share.

Currently studying to become a sommelier he soon dived the conversation into super Tuscans and what each one of us thought it was or could be. Not having an official definition, there was enough room for speculation and we soon tried one that he has personally gotten locally during some holidays. 

Afterwards we were presented to a 100% Sangiovese that, for him, it was more of a super Tuscan than the one before.  

Being pretty late in the evening I have then announced that I would leave and thanked politely for the amazing thoughts we have shared together.

But in return I got a no. I just couldn't leave without trying the very last wine that he wanted to share with us. 

As the wine was poured in the glasses me and a friend of mine soon came to the conclusion that we were facing a Bordeaux from the 80's due to its rustic character. Even though it was dominated by tertiary aromas of tobacco and light leather, it still had some primary fruits present with soft tannins. Definitely a good Bordeaux that has managed to go through the years with elegance and liveliness. Even though I enjoyed it I have to confess that tasting it at around 3am after having tasted around twenty wines before has made my evaluation of it really hard. 

When the bottle was unfolded I could not  hide my surprise: A Chateau Latour 1988.

The question that followed was "why".

Why such an iconic wine at such a time.

When confronted with it, the owner of the bottle just said he wanted to share it with people who would appreciate and value it. 

Even though I was happy with the compliment, I do have doubts whether I fully appreciated it.  

On the other hand, when is it the perfect time to fully appreciate a certain wine? This directly reminds me of a scene of Sideways where Miles was confronted with the same question and ends up drinking a top wine at a burger diner. 

In the very last sense, this experience that I have just shared with you was a personal reminder that wine is something deeply emotional and that you should not control and just live it when you fell like it. 

PS- Unlike what I often do, I will not give any points to this wine for very obvious reasons described above

Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon; Merlot
Winemaker: n/a
12,5%
Link: https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/a-time-for-sharing/vintages