Tasted in Meursault with ‘Mr Genevrières’ Jean-Pierre Latour, 18 October 2021
Domaine Latour-Giraud
6 Route D974
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 21 43
www.domaine-latour-giraud.com
More reports with Domaine Latour-Giraud
Jean-Pierre on 2021:
“7-8 hl/ha ha this year… But we are full of hope; the grapes were very concentrated – more than in 2016 but still with great acidity. We have to wait for the Springtime but I think we have the potential for great wine, which is some recompense for only about 15% of the harvest we made in 2018.”
Jean-Pierre on 2020:
“2020 was more generous, of course. We have fine maturity for sure and we can see very balanced wines. The reds are concentrated, the whites very pure with an impressive expression of fruit – these are wines that are more airy than we’ve seen for a while.”
The wines…
It wasn’t easy to taste the reds today but the ‘Refene’ really caught my eye! Indeed, the whites were also quite backward too – because of that I’m trying not to get overly carried away – yet these wines seem to have everything – concentration balanced by energy and freshness – they beg you to take another drink. There’s no better recommendation.
2020 Pommard Cuvée Carmen
Racked in the last couple of weeks, now all together in tank – no bottling until next year.
Lots of colour. A broad and deep nose, fine fruit that’s a little spiced too. Ooh – here is plenty of acidity but accompanied by depth of concentrated flavour too. Certainly a fresh wine but doubled due to the intensity – very concentrated for a villages. The finish here is fine and very well textured.
2020 Meursault 1er Caillerets
There are only two producers today, since Coche replanted his part to chardonnay, here and Mikulski.
Again full-coloured. A broad nose again, this time much is hidden by some reduction – this is still in barrel. Lots of acidity again – a brighter style to the fruit too – the reduction visible but less overt than the nose. A touch more tannin is visible here but also some finely focused darker berry fruit too, more layered in the finishing complexity – I love that finish – it’s very long.
Also still some barrel reduction here. Darkly coloured as the others here. The reduction parting to offer glimpses of pure, dark-red berry fruits. More gas here but there’s a clarity to this wine – wide, juicy, and so full of material and energy. Bravo – love this!
2020 Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
Almost saturated colour. The nose reductive to start – and even after a little swirling. A little gas again. This wine is juicy and energetic – like the last – even more mouth-filling and in this case slightly saline. I don’t see quite the same purity – the clarity of fruit. It impresses but less so than the last today. Just a little extra perfumed aroma coming through in the finish – and the length seems more here.
Les Whites:
All assembled in September with some of their lees. ‘Cork-sealed but they are triaged by density to aim for the highest possible homogeneity whilst remaining a natural product:’
2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay
All from the commune of Meursault, to be bottled around February.
Hmm, now that’s a very attractive nose – slightly sweet, slightly round but still an impressive invitation to taste. There’s some density behind this but delivered with a fine, slightly saline, citrus freshness – intense and direct – perhaps lime here too – so much energy. That’s an excellent, almost great Bourgogne!
2020 Meursault Cuvée Charles-Maxime
Named after two grandfathers – the Latour and the Giraud from which the domaine takes its name. 7 different parcels that offer a round view of the village.
More aromatic density and a Meursault spice character in evidence. Extra-wide, vibrantly flavoured. Here is more complexity – some ginger spice to the energy of the citrus fruit. That’s a fine and lip-smacking finale – yum!
2020 Meursault Narvaux
A calmer nose of width – more ripeness to this yellow citrus. A little gas but still anything but calm in the mouth: Energy, minerality more shaded towards lime citrus in the flavours. Zesty lime-skin in the finishing flavours – long too – keep this a while.
2020 Meursault 1er Bouchères
Not so wide but there’s both depth and height to this one – more vertical and a slight mineral rigour too. Fuller, rounder, juicy-flavours. More golden citrus – ripe but very fresh lemons. Wide and mineral style in the finish – that’s an impressive wine.
2020 Meursault 1er Poruzots
Airy, spicy, more floral in style. Again very mineral – indeed more-so – a little less rigour, here is purity and intensity – I like the clarity very much but this is clearly still a wine to wait for. I think it will be excellent – the finish here is the most complex yet – it’s super here!
2020 Meursault 1er Charmes
Half dessus and half top of the vineyard. But not the bottom part that was reclassified in 1974…
A wider nose, more airy – a subtle suggestion of reduction too before showcasing a more floral aspect to its perfume. Mouth-filling, bubbling with energy but not gas – layers, more waves, of a wide-finishing citrus blend of flavour – neither lime nor lemon, rather much more complex. Yet the structure, modest as it is, suggests three or four years of patience before opening. That’s a very lovely wine!
All from the top part but three different parcels.
The aromas are more compact than those of the Charmes, a little deeper, more spiced – just a little tight in the higher tones to start – but slowly, surely, comes more clarity of aroma with line. Extra concentration here – wide, with a saline accent – oof! Big wine but balanced wine. That’s impressive, mineral, faintly spiced Genervrières that will age as long as its cork allows – very impressive – bravo!
A more open nose – quite airy with wafts of citrus as top notes – more mineral in style at the base. A faint reduction here but a gorgeous complexity is also evident – slight rigour to this minerality – almost a stony extract. Here is another great wine – and the more patience you have the better it should be – Bravo!
2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Champs Canet
‘The closest vines to Perrières’
Fine width and complexity of aroma – almost an extra ‘ease’ versus the structure of the Meursaults. Mouth-filling and with super intensity too – here is material. A faintly tannic grain frames this wine – the acidity showing a hint more too. So this is structural wine, citrus acidity to the fore – but so juicy that you want to take another ‘hit’. Fuller finishing waves of flavour. Super again.
Made since 1996, ‘trying to push what’s possible by taking older vines – more than 50 yo – vines with a maximum 4 clusters, on-third new oak – all the others were 25%. It doesn’t make a great deal of sense commercially as it’s only about 20% more expensive and there’s much more difference that that vs the general cuvée – just about 1000 bottles only.’
Not the nose with most impact but the one that is the quintessence of the finely divided, almost granular concentration of Meursault’s ginger spice – I love that. A touch of gas here but also a much more concentrated impression to the mineral width of this flavour. A complete wine, also with a touch of tannin – but finer-grained. The finish is about citrus-accented minerality. You won’t be disappointed! Bravo!