Tasted in Vougeot with Eduard Labet, 24 November 2022.
Chateau de La Tour / Domaine Pierre Labet
Rue de la Montagne
21640 Vougeot
Tel: +33 3 80 62 86 13
www.chateaudelatour.com
More reports for Château de La Tour & Domaine Pierre Labet
François & Eduard on 2022 & 2021:
“2022 helped with our morale and the vintage is seductive too. It’s a proper volume – 35 hl/ha in the Clos de Vougeot and compare that to 2021 when we had only 5 barrels of whites in the Côte de Beaune – it was better in the Côte de Nuits. But Domaine Labet hardly made 10% of a normal vintage – the vines are all high close to the forest – it’s the same in Meursault – very exposed. We had a bit of frost this year (2022) too but we can’t compare the two. Certainly, the 2021s were interesting to vinify – I’ve only really known the more recent more solar vintages. Our 2021 harvest started on the 25 September with old vines in the Clos. It’s a vintage where the stems are rather obvious in the wines, at this stage with varying levels of accommodation by the wines – but these will turn out beautifully, of that I’m sure.”
The wines…
There’s a small austerity to these wines and the stems are relatively overt at this stage – but the elevage is not short here and I expect my notes are conservative – the Beaune is a steal though – and worth a special search!
2021 Pierre Labet, Bourgogne Pinot Noir
From Chorey, from 46-year-old vines.
Broad, smoky but pure – the perfume of the stems. A width over the palate, saline, incisive – a little metallic. I like this a lot, a certain austerity would have me waiting 2-3 years before attacking but there’s no lack of concentration here – you can drink it with pleasure for 10 years.
What they had (1ers Marconnets, Coucherias) was all declassified to this cuvée.
Ooh – the smoky stems but rounder, sweeter and certainly more alluring. Supple, pure – quiet direct always perfumed. Properly structured but also more comfortable already than the Bourgogne – this a great ‘villages’ wine – bravo! I love the finish here.
2021 Pierre Labet, Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles-Vignes
Crais, Justice and Jousie in equal amounts vinified together – about 1 ha of 60-year-old vines on average.
Extra breadth of aroma – a little more depth and terroir to this mineral base. Really wide and incisive – mineral too – tots of complexity here – strong from the stems – a bit of the austerity of the Bourgogne – wait 3 years – it will be a fine fresh and intense wine.
2021 Château de la Tour, Clos de Vougeot
About 70% of the production is this ‘classic’ cuvée.
Some width but here there’s depth of aroma too, slowly becoming floral. Fresh – growing in intensity despite such a mouth-filling shape. There’s depth and such a width of finishing flavour too – almost sparkly in its complexity – for keeping, obviously, but what a great finish. The tannin is present but without grain.
2021 Château de la Tour, Clos de Vougeot Vieilles-Vignes
Since 2015 the old vines cuvée is not made only from the one block of 1910 vines as in previous years.
Higher toned – flowers and some intensity – a vibrant nose with beautiful clarity. Extra in the mouth, clarity again, so open, architectural but no hard structure – almost suave despite the modest tannin – again without grain – a great extra explosion of finishing flavour.
There is no Clos de Vougeot, Hommages a Jean Morin in this vintage. And as our tasting was shorter than other years:
2018 Clos de Vougeot
A width of complex, darker notes – first balsamic but then floral. In the mouth, this sits very well – melting good flavour over the palate, framed with a faintly grained tannin but actually with a sneakily attractive mouth-watering finish. Very good…
2017 Clos de Vougeot
A more direct but still rounded bouquet of flowers – the fruit redder in style. Broad, more obvious architecture to this wine – melting freshness of fine flavour – this is excellent and – of the two – the wine to drink today
Hmm – pure, direct, sinuous, red fruit – admirable purity for the vintage too. Width, melting red fruit, more mineral and more tannic than the 2017 – the 17 is certainly easier to drink / more accessible wine today. A haunting finish here. A little compact and certainly young at this stage but I thought it great before bottling and I see no reason to change my view at such a young age. A beauty!