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There is a restaurant named Latour tucked away an hour outside of New York City in New Jersey, within the confines of a very special place, Crystal Springs Golf Resort. It is a great place for a weekend getaway of golfing or skiing (depending on the season), spa-ing, eating, drinking or even just relaxing in the hotel room with a loved one”¦playing backgammon, of course :). I was there for the eating and drinking part, as the restaurant was hosting a very special vertical of Chateau Latour back to 1955, guided by none other than Frederic Engerer, president of Chateau Latour.

By the way, the wine list at Restaurant Latour is one of the country’s finest, and the prices are fantastic. The night prior, I had a bottle of 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan off the list for $195. The half-bottle of 1999 Lafite had just sold out earlier in the week. It was $95 on the list! I think you get the picture. The VCC was classic with its aromas of deep plum, olive and chocolate. It was very elegant, round and supple. It showed the tender side of 1982 and felt like it was entering its plateau. Traces of garden rounded out its finish (93).

Back to the main event”¦our evening of Latour started with the 2004 Latour, which had a sweet, sexy nose, ripe with its cassis and carob and framed by nut, pencil and cedar. Its fruit dominated at this young stage, and hints of lilac, lavender and jasmine were present. In the mouth, the wine was round, supple and soft, very shut down at the moment, especially when compared to the nose. It was not giving a lot, and G-man found that it had ‘too much pencil and was missing some legs.’ Engerer commented how ‘Cabernet doesn’t need heat, it needs light’ (92).

All wines were opened and double decanted about three hours before the event, which gave all the wines a very polished quality. I couldn’t help but wonder if a score or two might have been different were they not so aerated, as some wines may have given a more vigorous impression. Regardless, everything showed beautifully. They were also scanned by the restaurant’s patented machine, which detects any level of corkiness or oxidized qualities in any wine.

We sat down to a pair of 2006 and 2005. Engerer told us that this evening ‘is about pairs.’ The 2006 Latour was more classic, still possessing excellent fruit but also more minerals and earth. It was still purple passion with its deep, youthful cassis in the nose, but it also had more tobacco and structural components. The palate had excellent acidity and lots of earth and cedar flavors. It was long and lingered, and even though its fruit was a bit shy, it was still tasty and showy. Its perfume filled up the room. Engerer commented how the 2006 did not have ‘the breed of 2005”¦but long and deep’ (94+).

The 2005 Latour was very wound, showing lots of cinnamon, leather and earth. It was dark and brooding, with hints of whitewall tire. The brooding continued on its big, rich palate. Sandy and earthy, there was also a nice hint of bitters here. It was really deep and impressive in its size, even though it was a bit shy. The acidity was long, but the 2005 was definitely more secondary than primary. G-man admired ‘a lot of raw materials, and well-integrated compared to 2006,’ even though the 2006 was more inviting (96).

The next pair was ’03 and ’02. ‘Wow, what sauvage’ came from G. The ’03 was very forward in that ripe 2003 style, roasted as well, again with that hint of rubber tire. It continued to gain in stature in the glass, possessing more structure than the typical 2003 Latour with noticeable alcohol and acidity. Toasty caramel emerged. The palate was rich, ripe, big and delicious. This was a ‘show me the money’ wine, hedonistic and sexy with lots of slate on its finish. ‘Very showy,’ someone remarked. Engerer said, ‘the ’03 comes to you, but you have to go to the ’02.’ I couldn’t help but love this ripe and rich 2003 (96).

Engerer commented, ‘I love the line in the ’02. It’s like a black star.’ I also loved its pointed nose; it was on the t ‘n a side with lots of cedar, carob, caramel and musk. Its sweetness was all caramel. The palate was linear and focused, zippy in the middle but lighter on its backside. The 2002 Latour was really good and much better than I thought it would be, gaining in the glass (94).

Engerer shared how he and Parker always debate these two vintages, and that Frederic always stands up for the 2002. The 2003 had Parker excited early, but for Frederic it was too easy and lacked the balance he yearns, and for him, the ’02 has that balance. I saw both sides of this debate!

The 2001 Latour was fragrant and perfumed, showing more violets than any previous wine. There was a sweet fragrance about it, leaving a nectar-like impression with this lavender honey quality. The palate was round, with nice pop to its long finish. Black fruits and dusty flavors rounded out this excellent ’01 (94).

The 2000 Latour had a wow nose. It was deep and dark, chocolaty and cedary, possessing lots of edge and qualities of carob and Egyptian cotton. The palate was thick, especially on its finish. Its backside was long and gritty for its glazed palate, and Engerer admired that the 2000 was ‘the best since 1982 in terms of balance, but today a little closed.’ He conceded, ‘I would probably want to drink the 2001 tonight’ (97).

1996 versus 1995 has always been an interesting head-to-head. The 1996 Latour had a fabulous nose with lots of nuts, windex, cedar, toast and cocoa. It was long and cedary, tight and minerally in its aromatics. The palate was long, dusty, lingering and tasty, possessing the most acidity of any Latour so far. It was ‘a whole different breed, on par with the 1961,’ someone commented. After some time in the glass, it became beefy and jammy; this was serious stuff (97).

The 1995 Latour was classic in the nose, similar to the 1996 with its minerals, dust and windex. This was closer than I thought it would be, and the finish of the ’95 stood up to the ’96. The 1995 had excellent thickness and body, showing a little more than the 1996 although overall possessing a little less (95).

We took a trip back in time with a flight of four older wines, beginning with the 1971 Latour. The ’71 was very bready with a pinch of pungency to the nose. It was also nutty and had nice fruit aromas of cassis and blueberry. The palate was rich and lush, a touch gamy and deliciously grapy, delivering a great drink of mature claret (94).

The 1962 Latour was beefy and brothy with a little wet cardboard in there. Hints of tobasco and pungent fruit marked its tangy aromas. The palate was fleshy and still zippy with great, pure flavors of plum and grape. Wholesome, round, tasty and lush, the 1962 was the second excellent bottle from this vintage that I have had in the past month, provoking some future curiosity (94).

The 1964 Latour had a nutty yet dirty nose, with lots of earth and a hint of cotton candy. It also had the cedar of ’64. The palate was round with lots of coffee, earth, cedar and tobacco flavors. It was pleasant, round and balanced, but a little cardboard-y on its finish (92).

The 1970 Latour was the last of this flight of four, and it proved to be the winner for me, by a nose, so to speak. The nose had this initial bread pudding quality to it, built off toast, raisin, game and black fruit aromas. Its flavors were the youngest, and there was great definition to this long and vimful Latour. A chalky and leathery intensity and hints of citrus separated this Latour from the rest. Some food made the power in this vintage stand out from the prior three (94+).

There were three more pairs on this evening, beginning with the modern-day heavyweight matchup of 1990 vs. 1982 Latour. The 1990 Latour was fresh and clean with nut, plum and spice aromas. It was rich, lush and seductive both in the nose and on the palate. Its cashmere tannins just melted in my mouth. Engerer found it ‘very extreme for Latour.’ It was so creamy and tasty, very forward and hedonistic with still enough stuffing for any turkey. It would be the first of three times for this wine in the coming month, and all three showed in the same decadently delicious way (96).

The 1982 Latour quickly rose to the top of the charts and took wine of the night honors. It was much more wound than the 1990, also with more minerals in its long, classic nose. Dust, cedar and more minerals kept surging out of the nose. The palate had so much length and strength, noticeably more so than any other wine on this starry night. While the 1990 was sexy, the 1982 was serious, and a wine that still stood out even four hours after being opened and decanted. Engerer commented how the ’82 was ‘sure of itself and surfed across your palate.’ He went on to comment how ‘all Latours gently age’ (98).

It was now time for the classic heavyweight matchup of 1961 vs. 1959. The 1961 Latour was a bottle released from Latour in 2003, and hence reconditioned. The nose was fabulous, with power, fruit and finesse all rolled into one. There were cassis and plum fruit aromas in this youthful Latour. Engerer found it ‘tighter than 1982, a bizarre accident of nature, with frost coming after flowering.’ The palate was gritty and long with lots of cedar flavors. G noted ‘coconut milk,’ while I did slate and cement on its finish. G did admit that there was ‘an element missing,’ and while there was outstanding definition to the finish, the fruit didn’t show the natural mature qualities I wanted. It got a little dirtier in the glass (95).

The 1959 Latour had so much more fruit, deep fruit, along with game and nut, and both G and I immediately preferred the ’59 to the ’61. There was more maturity, more open fruit, and a soft, lush, easy and pure personality. Its sheer deliciousness was tough to not like, and this bottle of 1959 definitely KO’d the 1961. Of course, at this age, it all comes down to the bottles. Hints of fig, game, truffle and chocolate sex appeal rounded out this impressive and original bottle of 1959 (97).

There were two more wines to go, although after the previous two pairs, almost anything would seem anti-climactic at this point, but the ’55 was up for the challenge. The 1955 Latour had a creamy, sexy nose with aromas of nut, A1 without the steak sauce, caramel, game, spice, citrus and leather from an S & M suit. It was rich, round and tasty, another sexy 1955. Caramel flavors and a hint of teabag were flat-out delicious. Engerer agreed, noting, ‘like ’62, a lot of energy’ (95).

There was a blind wine served at the end, a solid 1950 Latour. I didn’t have much left in me, but it was chalky, rich and with an excellent finish. It was a Latour, after all (93).

It was a special night at a special place, and a pleasure to have Frederic on hand to guide us through over fifty years of the greatest Latours.