Normally, the great rewards (or at least a recompense) of the wine writer’s life include many trade tastings, never more so than in the midst of a cold, blustery East Coast winter. You escape into the warmth of a grand Manhattan hotel or find yourself at a table in some elegant Midtown restaurant. The company is good or at least convivial, and the wines are a treat to contemplate and compare.
But that was then.
We’ve now endured not one but two winters—this latest one not even half over—that were anything but normal. And with it, the loss of countless tastings. Thank you, Covid.
Feeling sorry for myself on many fronts, I decided to put on a series of mini-tastings this winter for a Party of One (a.k.a., me, moi, and myself). The venue: Château Anderson.
The recurring subject matter: Mostly mature Burgundy, white and red, from Maison et Domaine Louis Latour, most often in flights of three, four or five bottles tasted over four to five nights.
But because my tastings started in the midst of the holidays, I did find the occasion to open one absolutely spectacular bottle of Champagne, the 1996 Henriot made for the 200th anniversary of this family-owned firm. I had long lusted for it, but also worried about it, my lone bottle having spent many years in my cramped, if also cold and dark, cellar. In the event (New Year’s Day 2022), my worries disappeared the instant I poured the wine (a blend of 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Chardonnay). It was fabulous, elegant, refined (the high-class, obvious Grand Cru, Chardonnay fruit dominated the blend)—and vigorous.
After that, it was on to business!
The Louis Latour reds have, in my opinion at least, gotten an unfairly bad name ever since the 1982 publication of Anthony Hanson’s “Burgundy” in the Faber and Faber series of books on the great wine regions. Hanson, a British M.W. and notable London wine merchant and personality, long had an outsized influence on the burgundy trade thanks to this one book. Yet, I remember reading “Burgundy” when it first came out and thinking it a very odd book indeed, being highly, personally judgmental, and ultimately saying rather more about Hanson than about Burgundy.
In any case, my first flight consisted of three thoroughly delicious Latour reds from the 2010 vintage—the rare vintage that has proved great in both colors. Two Thousand Ten followed the equally great 2009, which was always more of a red vintage, being hotter and less obviously acid. Two Thousand Ten could have proved like 1996, which was sometimes in the reds perhaps just a bit too acid for its own good, but not. The 2010s are fleshier and rounder than the ‘96s, though not nearly so round or fleshy as the 2009s. Best of these three 2010 Latour reds, for me at least, was the Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru “Les Chaillots” from Domaine Latour, though both the other bottles were brilliant in their different ways: the Latour flagship, again from its own domaine, the Beaune-Vignes Franches Premier Cru, is a bit rounder and is red fruit-laced (not surprising given the sourcing). The Volnay Premier Cru “En Chevret” comes from the associated négoce business, Maison Latour. I have no idea what the exact source of the “Chevret” is, but I would suspect a mere one or two growers, for it is a very high-quality Volnay, similar to a top “Caillerets,” being elegant and svelte. The “Chaillots” is airier and finer (again, in my opinion), emphasizing the typical dark fruit Aloxe character, but also minerally, with a bewitching touch of mint or even menthol on the nose. A very individual sort of wine. The Pomerol of the Côte de Beaune reds! Oh, and it was at its best on nights four and five. But then they all were. Beat that!
My two white Latour tastings were dedicated to mature village and Premier Cru wines from the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages. I think time will prove that 2010 was the best of these, but only just barely, with the chunkier 2008 nipping at its heels. The surprise, for me, was that the 2009s proved as good as they did, “the typical, tightly-wound Latour white style”—to use Michael Apstein’s extremely apt description—being a perfect foil for the richer, riper vintage. The other surprise, I have to say, was the unexpectedly high quality of the two village Puligny wines that I tasted. (I normally think of négoce village Puligny like village Gevrey in reds as regularly being among the worst values in Burgundy.)
My first white tasting featured the 2007 and 2008 Pulignys, a 2009 Meursault, a 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet “Cailleret” Premier Cru, and the 2008 Meurault-Poruzots Premier Cru. Let me say right up front that I thought the 2008 Puligny was quite brilliant for what it is, the color a bright yellow, the flavors on the nose and palate fresh, a really fine example of a village Puligny. The ’07, good as it was, was neither as fine nor as special. A bit timid but, again, fresh, the color between light-lemon and yellow, but again not quite so bright as the ’08. To my great surprise, however, the ’09 Meursault turned out to be delicious, a glistening yellow in color, richer and peachier than the Pulignys, less minerally as well—it is Meursault, you know!—but very enjoyable and in pristine condition. The two Premier Crus could not have been more different: The ’09 “Cailleret” being stony and firm, still a youthful light-lemon in color, while the “Poruzots” was, well, classic “Poruzots.” Rich and chunky, never the finest Meursault premier cru, but easy-to-please, voluptuous even, exhibiting honey and spices, saline too.
My second tasting of white burgundies distributed in this country by Latour U.S.A., and held on my much beloved mother-in-law’s 90th birthday in late January 2022, opened with a long-time Franny favorite, the 2010 Chablis Premier Cru “Vaillons” from sister-firm Simonnet-Febvre. It’s a wine she and I have enjoyed countless times together over many years. And this was a near-perfect example.
Still a light lemon color—after over a decade in the cellar. Light and airy and saline, beautifully balanced. Real “attack” here on both nose and, especially, palate. A second shot at the 2009 Chassagne “Cailleret” found the wine a glistening yellow-gold color, more open than at the earlier tasting, but also still quite minerally in character. Better, for me, though, were the next two wines. A near-perfect bottle of 2010 Meursault-Blagny Premier Cru “Château de Blagny” showed the lightest and most youthful color (by far) of the three Côte de Beaune wines. The wine was airy, with a light acacia honey nose and a touch of spices. Really quite lovely. Finally, there was the 2010 Corton-Charlemagne (Domaine Héritiers Louis Latour), with the darkest color, also by far. A sort of darker version of golden, on the way to orange even. But . . . but . . . the wine itself was neither corked nor tired nor pre-moxed. More honeyed, again by a long way, than the Premier Crus. Nutty. A totally different kind of wine. Weighty and impressive.
One slight caution: While the HCC, as the Latour people like to call it, was at its best on the third night, the Blagny, especially, and the “Cailleret” were both still going strong on Night Five.
A warning to myself: I can’t afford to deplete my cellar like this all that often. Still, I did come away happy and satisfied. A sure cure for what ailed me!
They may not prove a cure, but any of the following highly affordable and widely available Louis Latour reds and whites should also be of interest to you, Dear Reader—as they are to me: 2016 Santenay Rouge (about $30); 2016 Santenay Premier Cru “La Comme” Rouge (about $40); 2015 Mercurey Rouge (about $30); 2015 Marsannay Blanc (about $30); and 2018/19 Montagny (about $25). I know because they’re all in my little cellar. I’ve tasted multiple bottles of every single one of them too!
Santé!
