Les Forts de Latour Pauillac 1996 campaign-feature shifts to a spicy-dry finish

shifts to a spicy-dry finish of cinnamon and nutmeg

The finish leaves a long and lasting mouthfeel perfect for enjoying as bourbon the rocks

An inky concentration of flavors along with the taut structure betrays its intention to sit in a cellar for some five years before it unfolds

Chaumees tends to wear its aromatics on its sleeve — more openly floral and perfumed

This is the Champagne formerly known as Royale Réserve — Philipponnat renamed it to put the actual method on the label

Les Forts de Latour Pauillac 1996 campaign-feature shifts to a spicy-dry finishNow hitting its stride: at thirty years old, the 1996 Les Forts de Latour the second wine of Chteau Latour is moving into the long plateau of mature Pauillac. 1996 was a classical, structured Left Bank vintage that favored Cabernet, and Forts de Latour shows that pedigree: once tightly wound and tannic, it has now mellowed into a firm but silken framework supporting cassis, cedar, tobacco, leather, and the umami complexity that comes only with age. A