READ · COMPARE · EXPLAIN
Château Latour: Harvest Vintage and Release Timing
A Bordeaux château in Pauillac. It produces three wines—Grand Vin, Les Forts de Latour, and Pauillac—by selecting grapes and varying the release timing for each.
Describe the release timing of three labels and organize the conditions you’d want to track when comparing wines from the same vintage.
Questions for this course
Even if the wines are from the same year, is the time waited before release the same?
Before you start reading, briefly jot down your thoughts. You will rephrase them at the end.
To applied practice using the material ↓
To explanation task notes ↓Château Latour / Learn from producers
France / Bordeaux / Pauillac
Synonym/Label: Château Latour / Château Latour / Château Latour
Update date: 2026-09-24
Three wines, three points in time.
For Latour, the standard time until release is 4–6 years for Pauillac, 6–8 years for Les Forts, and 8–10 years for the Grand Vin. Even if the vintage is the same, you cannot assume they are all released at the same time.
Les Faure ingredients
Les Forts uses several sources: the outskirts of L’Enclos, plots not included in the Grand Vin, and vineyards outside L’Enclos. If you call it 'wine from only young vines,' you leave out the differences between plots.
Do not use length as a quality ranking.
The waiting period before shipping shows when the producer considers the wine ready to start drinking. However, that period alone does not tell you your preferences at opening or the storage condition. In tastings, compare harvest year, shipping time, and storage after purchase.
What to align and what to compare.
Pauillac
- Conditions to standardize
- Château Latour
- Conditions for comparison.
- The rule of thumb is 4–6 years until shipment.
- Additional points to confirm
- Distinguish between vintage year and release year
Les Forts
- Conditions to standardize
- Château Latour
- Conditions for comparison.
- 6–8 years / several source plots
- Additional points to confirm
- Not limited to only young vines
Grand Vin
- Conditions to standardize
- Château Latour
- Conditions for comparison.
- 8 to 10 years is the guideline
- Additional points to confirm
- Do not rank taste solely by the number of years
Order of reading and key points to consider in each article
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READ · HYPOTHESIZE · RECONSIDER
Château Latour: Reading the Technical Sheets – Harvest Vintage and Release Timing
Compare the stated conditions in the documentation. Numbers specifying vintages should be treated as information for that specific year.
This summarizes materials published by producers, regional groups, and importers. Each source includes the publisher and the date the material was checked.
| Comparison items | What can be determined from the materials | Ability to distinguish by reading |
|---|---|---|
| Pauillac | The rule of thumb is 4–6 years until shipment. | Distinguish between vintage year and release year |
| Les Forts | 6–8 years / several source plots | Not limited to only young vines |
| Grand Vin | 8 to 10 years is the guideline | Do not rank taste solely by the number of years |
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Read the explanation for each question
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What are the shipping periods for the three wines?
Different waiting periods are described for each label.
What are the ingredients of Les Faure?
Both inside and outside Anklo as sources of raw material are explained. For Les Forts, raw material includes surrounding plots of Anklo, plots not selected for Grand Vin, and vineyards located outside Anklo. Describing only the age of the vines does not reflect these geographic differences or selection criteria.
What can you infer from the number of years until shipment?
The period is policy information, not the actual condition at the time of opening.
Basis and sources for the exercise
Practice exercises in comparison
Please explain differences in raw materials and winemaking by reading the table and sources.
Read examples of organizing comparisons
| Conditions for Comparison | Comparison items | What can be determined from the materials | Ability to distinguish by reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pauillac | The rule of thumb is 4–6 years until shipment. | Distinguish between vintage year and release year | |
| Les Forts | 6–8 years / several source plots | Not limited to only young vines | |
| Grand Vin | 8 to 10 years is the guideline | Do not rank taste solely by the number of years |
Sources of materials used for comparison are listed in the text and exercises.
Explain in your own words
Describe the release timing of three labels and write down the conditions you’d want to track when comparing wines from the same vintage.
Check after writing
- Did you specify the label, vintage, and scope of materials to be compared?
- Did you distinguish and explain the three items in the table?
- Did you separate verified facts from points to check further with additional references or tasting?
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