Tasted in Meursault with Vincent Latour, 31 January 2022.
Domaine Vincent Latour
6 Rue du 8 Mai 1945
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 22 49
www.domaine-vincentlatour.com
More reports with Domaine Vincent Latour.
Another vigneron who is in his newly completed, updated, cuverie. We tasted in the new tasting room with brilliant views towards the vineyards of Tessons and Tillets and others…
Vincent on 2020:
“We have okay yields – I think it’s a very good vintage… As for the reds, I haven’t seen colours like this since 1999! The rain just before the harvest really helped us with the balance, I think we had similar in 2017 and 2018 but unfortunately not in 19! We began harvesting 27 August – 2 days of reds then started the 29th for the whites – we finished at the start of September. The reds were easy to work and were certainly ready – our whites were not ready a week earlier when many were already in the vines.”
The wines…
I thought Vincent’s 2019 whites lacked some of his usual clarity but his 2020s are back on form – he’s got some very great villages wines to choose from in this vintage. The reds were largely a bit too much for me on this day…
Vincent has been building up to using DIAM Origine for a number of years – having started on this road in 2006 – now all the wines are sealed like this…”
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Chardonnay
Mainly from the Volnay side of Meursault but a little from the Puligny side.
Deep, warm ripe fruit but with freshness too – not yet bottled. Vibrant, some gas still – but it wraps around the tongue with energy and happy flavours,
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Cuvée Hertiage
Two old vine plots, planted by Vincent’s grandfather in the 1950s at the limit of Meursault villages – Dressoles und Malpoirier. Foudre elevage plus new and older demi-muids, slightly less rendement than the first wine.
More sleek and direct. Also in the mouth too. A fine and very Meursault impression.
2020 St.Aubin Cuvée Thomas
A mix of domaine and purchases made at the time of the harvest.
An extra vibrancy – fresh and a little reductive – it’s very attractive. A little reductive but extra mineral and very mouth-watering. Intense in the finish
2020 St.Aubin 1er Les Frionnes
More depth to this fresh width of aroma – that’s very attractive. Mineral with a little more textural padding. Faintly reductive – I find this exceölent – more to the mineral than the fruit side – joyously finishing
One parcel in Houlières on the Chassagne side
More floral perfumed. Tension. Direction – beautifully poised and vibrantly flavoured – a touch of oak but really hyper-attractive wine – bravo villages. So impressively finishing
Narrower, more mineral, faintly spiced nose. Wider, super mineral flavours but never hard – that’s also a great villages wine – the oak less visible but beautifully textured and with a floral perfume infused through the flavours…
2020 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Morgeot
A wider, more refined, width of aroma. Fuller, more depth – a certain extra ripeness to this the fruit. Very silky and concentrated. Very good, The finish is excellent…
2020 Meursault St.Jean
A mix of vineyards – Crotots, Vireuils and the villages part of Meix sous Château – just over a gram of sugar than never finished.
Sweet, wide aroma – almost a little patisserie. Supple, concentrated, modestly sweet – but maybe that’s just because I know it’s not fully dry. But delicious and sinuously padded – a little rounder – in the finish.
2020 Meursault Clos de Magny
From behind the cuverie of Roulot
That’s a nicer nose – ginger-spiced and fresh. Direct, sleek, growing in intensity, slightly saline and long citrus finishing – it’s super!
Another classic, slightly ginger-spice, nose. I love the shape and flavour of this – mineral – with tension – great villages.
This spiced but with emphasis on flowers this time. Supple, a little more fat than the last but still with a lovely energy and minerality – also great but different in style – dynamic finishing – top!
Beautifully perfumed – another step up – floral and mineral. A little gas – wider, less fat growing with a crescendo of flavour. Mineral in the finish – another really great wine.
2020 Meursault 1er Charmes
Mix of high and low parcels, harvested at the same time and pressed separately. Part in foudres now.
Beautiful clarity, ripe lemon, faintly spiced. Beautiful over the palate too – there’s concentration but also fluidity to this flavour – there’s a healthy accent of barrel too – but that won’t last long. I think this a completely excellent Charmes.
2020 Meursault 1er Poruzots
More vertical – height and depth – faintly oaked again, becoming very floral. Direct and mouth-watering – a very silky, mineral wine – plenty of oak today, again, but wait 2 years. Excellent wine…
2020 Meursault 1er Genevrières
An extra width of aroma – more airy in style. That’s really wide and modestly mineral over the palate. Elegantly fine wine.
2020 Meursault 1er Gouttes d’Or
A vibrant nose – the most forward – the base with a little reduction – a super invitation. Wide – vibrant, invigorating. Mineral with a certain toasty style – the barrels are different – this from a 1 year-old demi-muid. Excellent again
2020 Meursault 1er Perrieres
A riper citrus – yellow citrus – airy above. Vibrant again – really mouth-filling, waves of freshness over the palate, modestly spiced – very complex. Super intense in the finish – holding well – a great, great finish…
From Ladoix, ‘I’m discovering it myself, I think it’s not bad! I think it has a similar quality to Perrières – it’s a good supplier.’
A more concentrated width of aroma – spiced, mineral and a different style of florals. More generous in the mouth but still with an ultra-mineral style – the minerality dominates today and brings a little rigour – wait 3-4 years before returning but that last perfumed floral notes are very impressive – the finish is unending! This could be great!
Les rouges:
2020 Bourgogne Côte d’Or
Deep, dark fruit – a little excess concentration impression – yet with a good vibration of energy. In the mouth certainly a lot of wine here – it calms and eases into a really great and very appealing finish.
2020 Meursault Vieilles-Vignes
From Malpoiriers and Dressoles again.
Also a dark and vibrant concentration of red fruit. A little more material – more tannin but melting over the palate – also easing over the palate in the finish – more attractive and floral finishing here – nicely mouth-watering too. A couple of great finishes here but the power of the initial impact needs to calm…
2020 Volnay Cuvée Nathan
More airy but still there’s a slightly roast depth of aroma. Finer in the mouth – incisive, fresh, cool-fruit – a fine texture too. Another wine where the best part is the ease and deliciousness of the finish. Here it’s just lovely…
2020 Volnay Cuvée Elegant
From near Mitans with some gravels here.
Also a wine of concentration and slightly roast fruit – still with super freshness. Mouth-filling, decently structure – another red where I’d be waiting the best part of five years for a calmer start – the finish is super again…
2018 Pommard Vieilles-Vignes
From Les Riottes and near the ‘station’ in Pommard. Destem all, vibrating table plus triage table followed by ‘a little’ cold soak, delestage not pigeage for 4-5 days – really separating the juice from the solids for 5-6 hours – a more standard approach after.
Inky deep colour. Faintly spiced freshness – still a roast character to the fruit. Supple – beautiful texture – it’s lovely in form – still too much today but give this time – maybe a little less than the previous – it has a certain elegance in comparison to the previous.
2020 Meursault 1er Les Cras
The only red from here that I know – the vines are almost but not quite in Santenots – just 20-30 metres away. Vincent recounts that this was hardly sellable as a white in the 50s, so his grandfather changed the colour! ‘The vines suffer here, planted on the rock, hardly half a harvest usually.’
That’s much more floral and fresh – much more elegant – still a little roast style to the fruit but much less. Concentrated, fresh, extra floral character. Love the texture here – this is an excellent wine for sure!