Food & Wine

pfang56
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Wine #1: Journey with '06 Latour

Sorry for the delayed post, but as with many of you, i have definitely been enjoying some time off with the family.

So, for our Christmas Eve dinner, we had the incredible privilege to enjoy a 2006 Chateau Latour, which was paired with a short tasting menu by the resort Italian Restaurant.

As this is my first wine post,  I will try my best to describe the experience with a basic vernacular and vocabulary (apologies if I offend anybody with my caveman palate and observations!).







First, upon receiving the bottle, after being somewhat intrigued by the documentary "Sour Grapes" (a good watch, BTW) I was very curious about provenance and authenticity.

It turns out that this particular bottle, whilst produced in 2006, was released in 2018 and as such had implemented some major security features. I imagine this is not new to many of the collectors on the board who commonly order cases from the finest producers, but I found it to be pretty novel and perhaps something for watch manufacturers to consider in the future



After confirming online that the bottle (or at least the label) was indeed authentic, following advice from the wonderful emcquillan, we decanted it around 3.5 hours prior to start of dinner.

Upon decanting, the cork had bright, mineraly aroma, the wine itself dark purple to reddish brown in colour, with very light sediment at the bottom, only appearing within the last ounce. We took a small amount in a glass, and upon aeration, could observe primarily a bold and bright graphite/mineral flavour, raspberry, oak, coffee with some light acidity. Clearly we could tell the wine had a strong personality and many layers of complexity, but definitely needed the decanting time to mature



Fast forward 4 hours later, we began our meal at the Italian restaurant. The dinner menu was as below, a short but rich combination of dishes from both land and sea.




So now the star of the show comes out, and perhaps it is different lighting, but the colour is a deep purple. Upon swirling, immediately one can sense a more elegant (but still bright) graphite scent, medium body and legs,  with hints of tobacco and raspberry, and first sip - WOW - elegant minerality combined with bright fruitiness, with a hint of coffee, vanilla, black currant, with a velvety texture and incredible aftertaste from the tannins.








At about 5 hours after decanting, I think the wine approached peak flavour around the risotto course, and we wholeheartedly completed the bottle in the midst of the wagyu portion at 5.5 hours post decanting, which was paired very nicely with the Latour.



Overall, I must say the '06 Latour was spectacular - it had an incredibly bright and bold personality that elicited more "wows" than "mmms" than I expected. In the watch world, it reminded me a little bit of Audemars Piguet, still haute horologerie but with a bit more audacity than the other marques.

Many thanks again for the opportunity to share this experience. And again, a special thank you to emcquillan for his advice and guidance.

Cheers to all of you and....

Now onto bottle 2!

Cheers
Peter

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