History of Georges de Latour Private Reserve

Our 2019 Georges de Latour scored 100 points from world renowned wine critic, James Suckling. Take a look back on the creation of Georges de Latour and why it has become the benchmark of Napa Valley Cabernet as one of the most collected American wines.

History of Georges de Latour

When André Tchelistcheff joined Beaulieu Vineyard in 1938, he tasted the de Latour family’s private wine – what they called “Private Reserve” – from the 1936 vintage. In 1940, Beaulieu Vineyard released the first vintage of Private Reserve and named it in our founder’s honor. The resulting wine became the first release of Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that was destined to become Napa Valley’s first “cult” Cabernet.

About the 1936 vintage, de Latour told Tchelistcheff, “It’s the best wine we’ve ever made. Moreover, it shows what’s possible. I want all of my wines to be that good. That’s why I’ve brought you here, Mr. Tchelistcheff.”

Some of History’s Most Notable Figures Enjoyed Georges de Latour Private Reserve

• Winston S. Churchill was served Georges de Latour Private Reserve at a banquet in his honor at the Waldorf Astoria
• New York mayor La Guardia presented Queen Juliana with the particularly elegant 1942 vintage of Georges de Latour Private Reserve at a luncheon in her honor
• On March 24, 1959, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were served Georges de Latour Private Reserve at a Pan American Union dinner hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles

2019 Georges de Latour

This vintage is truly exemplary, with a nuanced, exuberant nose showing dark, ripe, berry fruit aromas of black raspberry, red currant, and black cherry, alongside delicate chaparral herb notes of wild lavender, rose, fresh mint, sage, and thyme. We hand-selected grapes from the finest Cabernet Sauvignon vines from the western bench of the Rutherford AVA in our iconic BV Ranches No. 1 and No. 2, originally planted by Georges de Latour in the early 1900s.

“Wow! The aromas to this are really exceptional, with a tangerine edge to the blackcurrants, graphite, lead pencil, flowers and wet earth. It changes all the time. So expressive and refined. Full-bodied with great intensity and depth of fruit. The ultra-fine tannins display millions of layers. The texture on the palate is superb and lasts for minutes.”

James Sucking, May 4, 2022 

James Suckling Full Review

This report includes a very special wine – the Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve 2019. Its pedigree in Napa Valley is legendary. It was first produced in the 1936 vintage and it was arguably the first great wine of the United States. Often simply called the BV Private Reserve, this wine also holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the favorite wines of my late father, John Suckling. I remember my dad drinking the wine often in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He loved the 1958, 1962 and 1964. When I joined the American wine magazine The Wine Spectator in December 1981, my father gave me a bottle of the 1962 BV Private Reserve from his cellar and said: “Jimmy, go home and drink this and think about what you are drinking. You will understand what great wine is about after you do that.” The fact that he was a collector and drinker of top Bordeaux at the time only added credence to his words. And, of course, I followed his instructions and still remember the balance and structure of the ’62 BV. The wine was so filigree in nature with layers of fine tannins and complex aromas and flavors of currants, tobacco and mahogany.

I had some of the same sensations tasting the 2019 last week with BV winemaker Trevor Durling. The young wine is structured and racy with fabulous intensity and length, but it’s a clear refitting and upgrade from the slightly big and overdone bottlings of the recent past. Durling said he has been working toward a more “refined” and “drinkable” BV Private Reserve in recent years to honor the great bottlings of the 1960s and 1970s. He certainly achieved this with the incredible, and perfect, 2019. I’m calling it “the new 1974 Georges de Latour,” which was a legend.

-James Suckling, May 4, 2022