Very classy with plenty of raspberry, currant, and licorice character. This is dense and compacted on the palate. Leave it for at least two or three years from now. 

94 points, James Suckling (2012)

Open-knit yet deep and powerful, the 2005 Les Forts de Latour is striking today. The pedigree of the vintage comes through in spades. Expressive, perfumed aromatics meld into a core of supple, open-knit fruit in a mid-weight, impeccably balanced Forts de Latour. Hints of red fruit, iron, smoke and tobacco add lovely shades of nuance. Latour's President Frédéric Engerer adds that that 2005 was the easiest and most balanced growing season (including 2009 and 2010) he has seen because his team had the total flexibility of choosing when to harvest.

94 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (2016)

Shows blackberry, coffee, cedar, and raisin on the nose, turning to licorice and fresh flowers. Full-bodied, with refined, silky tannins and a long finish. Balanced and juicy. Builds on the palate, with currant, licorice and mineral character, followed by a powerful finish. An amazing second wine.

94 points, Wine Spectator (2008)

The 2005 Les Forts de Latour is another beautiful wine from this estate. Medium to full-bodied, with a dense ruby/purple colour, loads of blackcurrant fruit, earth, and spice, the wine is extremely pure, broad, savoury, and quite expensive. This is a fabulous second wine but, in essence, of classified growth quality. Drink it over the next 20+ years.

93 points, Wine Advocate (2015)

Good red-ruby. Exotic aromas of roasted plum, currant and graphite. Big, round and sweet but with the broad shoulders of the year. The silky flavours of currant, tobacco and sweet oak show extraordinary baby fat and volume. Wonderfully rich, expressive wine with a very long, silky, aromatic back end. 'Better than the 2007 Latour today, and almost as long,' says Engerer.

92 points, International Wine Cellar (2007)

Always the equivalent of many classed growths, Les Forts de Latour is hardly a second wine, deriving from a particular parcel of the Latour vineyard. This 2005 is beautifully balanced, with lively fresh acidity, dense tannins and ripe, juicy black fruits. The acidity stays right to the end.

92 points, Wine Enthusiast (2008)

Deep extraction of fragrant, floral small berry Cabernet fruit, both creamy and crunchy, fresh and exuberant, much more approachable than expected due to perfect ripeness, very fine. Drink 2012-25.

18/20 points. Decanter (2006)

Very intense nose – massive concentration. Deep blackish ruby. Lift and minerals and pzazz. Very Latour. Very grown-up. Spicy and absolutely classic.

18/20 points, jancisrobinson.com (2015)

...complex bouquet… with blackberries, wild strawberry and floral scents that just blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, almost symmetrical in the mouth with great precision and intensity towards the finish that gently caresses the mouth. There is a tang of soy on the aftertaste that imparts a sense of tension, an edginess, completing a bona fide classy Deuxième Vin built for the long-term.

93 points, Wine Advocate (2015)

The second wine, the 2005 Les Forts de Latour, represents 45% of the production. A blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, it appears to be the finest Forts de Latour since the 1982... The 2005... reveals a striking minerality in addition to gorgeous notes of creme de cassis, forest floor, plum, minerals, and subtle oak. This full-bodied, superbly concentrated, fresh wine should evolve gracefully for two decades.

92-94 points, Wine Advocate, 2006

Deep crimson. Again the proprietors go to great lengths to distance this wine from the idea of being a second wine. The vineyard parcels lie adjacent to Pichon Longueville Baron, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Talbot and Batailley. It is a striking wine with lovely cassis/red cherry aromas with some cedar/vanilla notes. The palate is fine and grainy with plenty of fruit depth and brambly notes underscored by cedar oak notes. This is an impressive wine which will no doubt achieve further complexity with age. Drink to 2026.

93-95 points, Andrew Caillard MW, 2006