2016 Latour-Giraud Meursault 1er Cru Charmes

Latour-Giraud

France / Burgundy / Latour-Giraud

The names Charmes was first mentioned back in 1366, and is a corruption of Chaume, which means land without vegetation. The land is flat with deep soil that grows frank, strong wines that are characterised more by intensity than finesse. The size of the vineyard (at 31 hectares, it's the largest premier cru in Meursault) makes it difficult to generalise, but hazelnuts, butter, peach and vanilla characters are common. And it's always pronounced. Domaine Latour-Giraud owns 50 ares of vines divided between lower and upper Charmes, which produce one bold cuvée, deep and fat, with a heady bouquet and rich texture.

September, 2017

Stephen Tanzer

Vinous Media

90-93 points

(13.8% natural alcohol): Healthy light yellow. Musky stone and citrus fruit aromas are complemented by vanilla and hazelnut. Distinctly riper and sweeter than the Narvaux, with classic Meursault fullness to its flavors of stone fruits and spices. Nothing off-vintage about this dense, oily, voluminous wine, whose impression of sucrosité (it's actually carrying close to 2.5 grams per liter of residual sugar) is nicely leavened by incisive acidity (4.8 grams per liter). Latour told me that when the sugars got down to about 2.5 grams in 2016, he chilled his cellar because he didn't want higher alcohol “to burn the wines”. He felt that without a bit of residual sweetness, the wines would be too dry for their levels of alcohol.

June, 2018

Allen Meadows

Burghound

90-92 points

Once again there is a whiff of matchstick to the lightly wooded nose that reflects notes of hazelnut, lemon rind and white orchard fruit. The abundant dry extract imparts a suave mouth feel to the concentrated, powerful and vibrant flavors that culminate in a mildly warm and youthfully austere finale. This too will need at least a few years of cellaring first and reward 6 to 8.

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About Latour-Giraud

It was a memorable tasting in Meursault in the European spring of 2018. Jean-Pierre Latour stood back and left the whites to press their irresistible case: aromatically enticing, seductive, resonant and mineral-inflected. Jean-Pierre's oldest known ancestor living from the vine was Jean Latour-Boillot, born about 1680, while the Giraud family were distillers in Meursault. The two domaines were united in 1958 with a marriage between the two families. These days production of the 10-hectare domaine is a little over 80% white, with the majority of vines across five premiers crus of Meursault: Les Genevrières, Les Charmes, Les Perrières, Les Bouchères and Le Poruzot. days production of the 10-hectare domaine is a little over 80% white, with the majority of vines across five premiers crus of Meursault: Les Genevrières, Les Charmes, Les Perrières, Les Bouchères and Le Poruzot.

About

Jean-Pierre Latour first got his hands dirty in the cellar back in 1983, then took the helm in '93. It’s really since the mid-2000s that he feels he’s nailed this style of white Burgundy - which he defines, justifiably, as “richness, purity and elegance, so that the wines finish fresh”. The whites are whole-bunch pressed, receiving a first racking at the end of August, when Jean-Pierre looks at the quality of lees to take forward. Bâtonnage is often part of the equation, but close observation of the vintage dictate frequency and duration. The wines are raised in oak for 11 to 12 months, with about 20% new oak for Bourgogne and village, and 25% for the premiers crus. Lovely reds from Pommard and Volnay are further evidence of Jean-Pierre’s sureness of touch.