blog.Cellarer

With all the ownership changes in Burgundy, Maison Louis Latour remains firmly in the hands of the Latour family.

The domaines, which give it 10 percent of production, also give it some superlative wines, in particular the great Corton-Charlemagne, of which the firm owns 22 acres. Whites are generally regarded as better than the reds here, with new oak barrel fermentation giving considerable richness and complexity.

The reds, traditionally pasteurized before bottling, are more controversial. Some believe the technique ages the wines too fast, while others enjoy the immediate richness and softness. Good reds to follow are the Beaune premier cru Domaine Latour and Chambertin.

Winery:
Louis Latour
18 rue des Tonneliers - Beaune 21200
Phone: 03 80 24 81 00

Writing down notes is useful while tasting. It helps you concentrate your senses. Here is a quick list of questions you can browse:

Date:
Location of tasting:
Brand:
Variety:
Vintage:
Appellation:
Place of Purchase:
Price:
Appearance:
Aroma:
Taste:
Overall Impression:

This list is also available as a nice PDF sheet waiting to be filled in.

A competing sheet is available with more explanations at The Frugal Oenophile.

Location: France, Rhône Valley, Northern Rhône

With the arrival in 1987 of Michel and Marc Chapoutier at their family’s negociant house of M. Chapoutier, a total change of style emerged from the cellars in Tain l’Hermitage.

Gone were wines that were aged too long in old wood, and in their place came in hugely powerful examples of Hermitage and other reds from Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Côte-Rôtie. Elegance has now been added to the power of the wines, which are produced bio-dynamically from a 240-acre estate.

Recent purchases of vineyards in Australia (Mount Benson), in Côteaux d’Aix-en-Provence (Domaine des Béates), in Côteaux de Tricastin (Domaine des Estubiers) and in Banyuls in the late 1990’s show the family’s expansion policies.

Winery:
18 avenue Docteur-Paul-Durand - 26600 Tain l’Hermitage
Phone: 04 75 08 28 65

I’ll profile more well-known Shiraz wineries in the future. Please subscribe to the Shiraz feed.