14% abv, Beaune, Côte d’Or, imported by Louis Latour Inc., San Rafael, CA.
I wouldn’t say I am an admirer of the IGP, regional and négotiant wines of Maison Latour, but they are able to do some pretty fantastic things with their estate wines which seem to benefit from the care of the winemaking team at their flagship cellars in Aloxe-Corton rather than their industrial facility outside the town of Beaune. At the domaine level they posses 48 hectares of vines with more hectares of Grand Cru vineyards (27ha) under control than any other family in France. While they seem to produce no less than a dozen wines from the villages and Grand Cru of Corton, the domaine wines provides a great insight into the house style and their graceful hand at winemaking.
Tasting note: the 2009 Domaine Latour Corton I medium garnet in color with a rather musty but not faulty nose of medium+ intensity with aromas of toasted chestnuts, blood, leather, dried cherry, wet leaves, forest floor, mushroom, woodspice, coconut shavings, and anise. As this opened up, some of the must blew off over a two hour slow-ox but it was still there as a background note that may have been a hallmark of the ripe vintage or storage condition of this wine in a retail environment. On the palate this wine is dry with medium acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, pronounced flavor intensity and a long finish with flavors of chocolate-covered cherry, cocoa powder, Mexican hot chocolate, crème de cassis, date jam, saline, iron, tarragon leaf, Blood Orange rind, and rhubarb. There is a beautiful pedigree here, captured rather elegantly by Domaine Latour’s restraint in oak ageing, that is rarely seen for Grand Cru wines is this era. This is drinking gorgeously but will continue to develop through 2035, drink now or hold. This wine is outstanding: 9.7/10.