Forts de Latour

"Wine to me is passion. It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It's culture. It's the essence of civilization and the art of living"
- Robert Mondavi’s Autobiography, Harvests of Joy

Wine is all of these things. For some of us it is a collector’s item and in other cases an investment. A wine venture can be as risky as putting ‘investment’ and ‘car’ in the same sentence. Taking in account all of these facets, it is important to listen to professionals and watch market trends. In 2003, Forbes published “Beyond 2000 Bordeaux”, in which writer Matt Rand examines first growth Bordelais wines as investments, with the consultation of Stephen Tanzer of the International Wine Cellar, Ian Mendelsohn with Christie’s auction house and Kevin Zraly, author of Windows on the World Complete Wine Course. The conclusion? Stick with off – vintages. Why? The best winemakers can make incredible wines even when the odds and Mother Nature are against them. Zraly states also that second labels are a safe bet, using Latour’s “Les Forts de Latour” as an example, "you can buy knowing that they could not have made a bad wine, because God gave them good weather conditions."

Les Forts de Latour comprised of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, from Latour. It is not made of lesser grapes; rather grapes from outside the vineyard L’Enclos and a delimited set of old vines. Not flawed, just different. This program began in 1966 and has been noted by critics repeatedly. Vintages to look out for: 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010.