Neal Martin 89

Though I have not been a huge fan of the 1986 Latour, this is undoubtedly the best bottle I have encountered. Deep and youthful, it offers black fruit and a strong stony/dusty element that clarifies with aeration, though it remains slightly disjointed. The palate is medium-bodied and solid with its gritty tannin. Firm with a pronounced backbone, it has more cohesion and complexity on the finish compared to previous bottles, though never quite musters enough flair to match expectations. Tasted at the private room at Noble Rot Soho. [Neal Martin, 26/12/2023]

Anticipated maturity: 2023-2033

JancisRobinson.com 17.5

This looked relatively mature. Rich and sweet. There was an element of rusty nails about this and I decided it was either St-Julien or Pauillac. Quite dense. Sweet and vibrant. Long. Beefy. But there was notable acidity and dry tannins on the finish. I guessed it as a 1986 but didn’t assume it was a first growth. This was not Latour’s most glorious period. [26/06/2010]

Anticipated maturity: 2000-2015

Wine Advocate 86

Tasted at the Academie du Vin from double magnum, even despite the large format and perfect provenance, the 1986 Latour still falls somewhat short of what you would expect given that this was a great Left Bank vintage. Now at 30 years of age, the nose is rather lackluster with dusty, soft, red berry fruit, with mossy and damp autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied with ferrous red berry fruit, firm and obdurate tannin, masculine and foursquare but without the requisite fruit concentration, which renders this Latour a bit…dour. With its herbaceous finish, one can only take solace in the fact that this First Growth cleaned up its act, pulled up its socks and has produced far superior vintages since this. Tasted April 2016. [Neal Martin, 28/09/2017]

Anticipated maturity: 2016-2024