The winemaking
process today at
Domaine Louis Latour
is much as it was in
the earliest days.
-old oak fermentation vats.
Latour leaves the skins with the liquid
for only 10 to 12 days. After that,
Tasting the Wines
Louis-Fabrice Latour introduced his
wines with the enthusiasm of a proud
parent. With his guidance, along with
Aloxe-Corton 1er
Cru "Les Chaillots"
2009, Côte de
Beaune
the tasting notes and comments from
Wine Spectator's Sanderson, the tasting
This first wine, the Aloxe-Corton
was a lesson in wine making and tasting
Premier Cru "Les Chaillots" is from
the village of Aloxe-Corton. This
extracting the color from the skins
along with the pure joy of experiencing
(pigeage) is still done the traditional
magnificent Burgundy Pinot Noirs.
way at Maison Louis Latour—by foot.
Latour explained that he chose 2009
When the winemaker determines that
wines because they are some of the
fermentation is complete, the "free-
best wines ever produced due to ideal
run" wine is drained off through wicker
growing conditions. August and
months and has a gorgeous ruby red
baskets. The pips and skins are then
September 2009 brought days of
color. This is a complex wine with a
warmth and sun, which created
balance between powerful taste and
beautiful deep, brilliant red wines with
acidity. The fruit flavor is up front but
complex flavor profiles. Latour
it has a bit of a mineral finish. It
suggested that if you have a choice
should be a great wine to drink now
pressed to get the best color, fruit and
tannins. That deep color wine is added
back into the free-run wine and the
blended wine is placed in oak barrels
for 12 to 18 months. After that time,
the quality of each barrel is checked
between 2008 and 2009 wines, you
and only the best goes into the final
should drink the 2009 wines first and
blend and eventually bottled for
let the 2008 wines rest another couple
distribution.
of years.
wine, which received 91 points from
Wine Spectator, comes from a
vineyard in a stony, pebbly area of
Burgundy with high levels of
limestone. The wine was aged for 12
or over the next decade and retails
for approximately $40.