Magnificent Meursault The Wines of Domaine Latour-G Giraud 2009 Whites superbly reviewed by Burghound! Stop Press! 14 June 2011 2009 White Burgundy Reviews Published by Burghound Domaine Latour-Giraud receives Superb Reviews What Burghound says about the 2009 Whites from Domaine Latour-Giraud... Jean-Pierre Latour told me that 2009 is an “extremely seductive vintage, especially in terms of the wonderful aromatic purity and breadth. I began picking on the 8th of September and brought in extremely clean fruit that required virtually no sorting. Potential alcohols were strong at between 13 and 14% with an average of about 13.5%. Yields were perfectly good but not generous at around 40 hl/ha for the 1ers and about 50 for the villages wines. As to the wines, my take is that they are somewhere between very good and excellent and should mature quickly yet hold well.” Latour said that he would probably bottle in March while aiming for a free SO2 level of about 40 ppm. As the scores and commentaries suggest, this domaine is slowly but surely becoming a source of really first-class quality. The oak treatment has been materially reduced and the style of the wines has clearly been gravitating toward a more classic character. If you don’t know the wines, pick up an example or two and I believe that you will be impressed. Burghound’s notes for the wines are terrific. In a vintage that some people have incorrectly stated is too ripe it is great to read the words “minerality, intense, energetic, harmony and balance”. I new these were seriously good when I tried them in February 2011 and it is great to see Burghound agrees! The wines are on the way to Australia so the opportunity to buy a Pre-Arrival prices will soon pass.
Like most Burgundy domaines Latour-Giraud was formed by the fusion of two families. The Latour family’s wine holding can be traced back to the French Revolution and the Giraud family’s ownership in Meursault dates back to 1850. In 1958 Pierre Latour married the only daughter of Charles Giraud creating the domaine. It is now run by his son Jean-Pierre, who I found to be one of the most honest and interesting vignerons in Burgundy. Latour-Giraud has good sized holdings in Meursault and is the largest landowner in the Premier Cru Genevrieres. They also have the Puligny Premier Cru Champs-Canet and a little Cotes de Nuits red as well as Bourgogne.
My visit was to taste the white wines, in particular the top Premier Crus, which have received excellent reviews from Burghound and Tanzer. The 2008’s were in bottle and the 2009’s were mostly in tank awaiting bottling in the very near future.
The 2008 Vintage: Whilst I am a fan of the minerally, lean 2007 white burgundies it is fair to say that not everyone agrees. Certainly those looking for shorter term pleasure often find them a little to restrained, or just simply too austere and acid. Tanzer describes 2008 as “Minerally too, with greater density and richness than 2007, occasionally with a glyceral or even exotic quality due to some botrytis; a thicker and more accessible version of “classic” than 2007”. Burghound says “2008 – Another Classic Vintage that is Essentially a 2007 Redux but with Better Concentration.....2008 is more concentrated, slightly riper and will be more agreeable young.....2007 is perhaps more for the hardcore traditionalist whereas 2008 will please most enthusiasts”. So the choice is yours.
The 2009 Vintage: No doubt the 2009 whites will forever live in the shadow of the outstanding 2009 reds. Before visiting I had anticipated ripe, exotic whites but (in most cases) that was not what I tasted. In fact the purity and definition of the better wines was delightfully surprising. The wines have lower acid than in 2008 but have no lack of freshness. Dominique Lafon considers the vintage outstanding for whites. The one consensus, if there is ever such a thing in Burgundy, is that those who picked early were able to make wines from very healthy grapes with plenty of backbone and no sur maturite . Jean-Pierre Latour picked his 2009’s early which is his usual practice. He uses about 25% new oak for the premier crus. From the time of picking to bottling the aim is to retain freshness and avoid the heaviness seen in many lesser Meursaults. It is worth reading Remington Norman and Charles Taylor’s description of the domaine in The Great Domaines of Burgundy.
The tasting notes. The one thing that you will continually read in the notes is the freshness and raciness of these wines. Latour-Giraud’s Meursault are all about drive and freshness. They are not the broad, rustic wines of old Meursault. The scores from Burghound and Tanzer are high, in fact seriously high for Premier Cru wines. Burghound gives many wines his “Sweet Spot” rating. I think you can read a little into the notes and comments that tells you these wines are special. There is a pattern in most wine scribe’s ratings that seldom see Village wines rated above Premier Cru or Premier Cru rated above Grand Cru. My experience tells me that quite a few top Premier Crus ARE better than Grand Crus and the same applies to Villages versus Premier Crus. I can’t help thinking that if the label said Grand Cru some of these wines would score even higher!
2009 Meursault Cuvee Charles Maxime Usual Price $79.50 Pre-Arrival $65.00 This is a blend from seven lieu-dits the domaine owns. It is named after Jean-Pierres two grandfathers, Charles Giraud and Maxime Latour. The 2009 wine opens with notes of ginger and spice. The palate is fresh and lively. The palate is fleshy but the wine finishes with good line. A very attractive wine for drinking now to five years. Burghound: A mild hint of sulfur does little to knock down the freshness of the hazelnut and ripe yellow orchard fruit nose. There is better richness and volume to the solidly well-concentrated medium-bodied flavors that possess good detail and an appealing hint of minerality on the complex and intense finish. While not at the same level as the Narvaux, this offers fine quality for its level. 87-90 Tanzer (all of his notes were made mid-2010): Slightly high-toned lemon, orange and spice aromas. At once sweet and bright, with lovely purity of fruit but a slightly lean texture. This may well flesh out with more time in oak. (I tasted the 2009 from one-year-old barrels, in order to get a more representative look at the wines that will eventually be bottled.) 87-89
2009 Meursault Narvaux Usual Price $85.00 Pre-Arrival $72.50 Narvaux is located above the Premier Crus of Genevrieres and Poruzots. I have always thought it punched well above its weight and Latour-Giraud think so too opting to bottle their wine separately rather than blending it into the Cuvee Charles Maxime. Their wine comes from a 0.61 ha holding planted 55 years ago on the thin, poor soil and substratum of the site (great for minerality). Lovely white flowers with a mineral aspect that takes the wine to another level. The wine has terrific mouthfeel and a super finish. Jean-Pierre dedicates this wine to afficionados! A super wine that is considerably better than many premier crus. Burghound: A slightly fresher and notably more elegant nose speaks of white flowers pear and roasted almonds that precede the rich, dense and utterly delicious middle weight flavors that possess really lovely intensity, balance, focus and finishing complexity. An excellent villages that is worth your attention. A Sweet Spot Wine (89-92) Tanzer: Pale green-tinged yellow. Orange, lemon and spices on the nose, sharpened by a mineral component that follows through on the ripe yet dry palate. Very pure, juicy, intense wine that's quite tight today. This offers excellent potential. 90-92
2009 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes Usual Price $115.00 Pre-Arrival $99.00 The flatter site and deeper soil of Charmes produces a wine less characterised by fineness than by intensity. The 2009 is the fullest and richest of the Premier Crus we offer. It exhibits the typical hazelnut, butter characteristics with more bottom end than Genevrieres or Perrieres. A little more richness and openness but still with good persistence. Burghound: An almost invisible touch of wood highlights the ever-so-slightly riper aromas of mildly exotic peach, pear, apricot and mango that introduce forward, rich, sappy, generous and very round flavors that possess good volume and a seductively textured mouth feel on the silky, focused and impressively intense finish. This is a textbook Charmes and worth your attention. A Sweet Spot Wine 90-93 Tanzer: Nose dominated by vanilla and spicy oak. Densely packed but full of gas and quite oak-spicy today; already sweet and supple but I find this hard to assess with confidence. Latour says this one still needs more work. 90-93
2009 Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres Usual Price $125.00 Pre-Arrival $99.00 In the past I have found Genevrieres the most difficult to describe of the Premier Crus. Sometimes it was perfumed, other times almost oily. It is not full and round like Charmes, nor lean and mineral like Perrieres. I asked Jean-Pierre to describe his Genevrieres. He described his Genevrieres as being a wine of many nuances. Nothing dominates and each mouthful provides another alluring and subtle aspect. Wines like this only happen when both grapes and winemaking are exceptional.
Latour-Giraud have a large holding of 2.50 ha with the vines planted in 1951, 1972 and 1978. The vineyard name comes from the juniper trees that grew on the site long ago. This wine is immediately more interesting on the nose. It has white flowers, spice and citrus with really fine, long acid. It combines power with elegance and all those little nuances Jean-Pierre has mentioned. There is a lot going on. At most domaines I find the Perrieres to be the top wine but here the Genevrieres is the winner. This is great Meursault (look at the scores!). I highly recommend this wine and would like everyone to try it. The Pre-arrival price has been kept below $100.00 to entice you! Burghound: An airy, cool and pure nose of white flower, spiced pear, lemon and hazelnut complements the rich, full and relatively powerful flavors that possess good concentration and an explosive, mouth coating and palate staining finish. This is not quite as mineral-driven as the Perrières but this is really quite impressive and the length is genuinely outstanding. A Sweet Spot Wine 91-94 Tanzer: Sexy aromas of orange blossom and spice. Still a lot of gas here too but this is pure and harmonious, with lovely cut and intensity to the soft citrus and honey flavors. Deep and complete wine; at once solid and refined. I find this rather open today, even if it still has evolution ahead of it in barrel. 91-94
2009 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet Usual Price $135.00 Pre-Arrival $119.00 Champs Canet is located directly across the border from Meursault Perrieres. It is something of a combination of both with the line and drive of Puligny and nuances of Meursault. Not surprisingly the LatourGiraud wine is subtle and racy with a nose of spice and white flowers. More delicate and restrained than the Meursaults. Burghound: A ripe and highly expressive nose of acacia blossom, white peach and a pretty array of citrus aromas gives way to solidly rich and relatively full-bodied flavors brimming with dry extract that confers a wonderfully textured, indeed almost chewy mouth feel onto the palate coating and naturally sweet finish. This doesn't quite have the superb delineation of the best here but it's an excellent wine all the same. A Sweet Spot Wine 90-93 Tanzer: Peach and clove on the nose. Sweet peach and spice flavors on entry, then quite biting in the middle palate from the high amount of CO 2 and hard to judge today. This seems rather high in acidity for this cuvee too. This very young wine may well get a longer elevage than usual, according to Latour. 91-93
2009 Meursault 1er Cru Perrieres Usual Price $180.00 Pre-Arrival $149.00 (Not available individually. Limit 2 bottles as part of any mixed dozen) Named after the underground quarry which once supplied stone for construction of the village. Latour-Giraud have just 14 ares from which they produce about 2 1/2 barrels. Much more mineral on the nose. A classic dry, almost austere, Perrieres that begs for time to blossom. Burghound: This intensely mineral-driven effort features notes of wet stone, cool acacia blossom and fresh lemon aromas that are in keeping with the rich, full, energetic and beautifully complex medium-weight flavors that possess impressive depth and power, all wrapped in a textured, detailed and silky finish that soaks the palate with dry extract. A classic Perrières of harmony and impeccable balance plus I really like the underlying sense of tension. A Sweet Spot Wine 92-94
Tanzer: Orange, lemon and minerals on the nose. Fresh and gripping, almost austere, with a taut stony quality and superb precision of flavor. A distinctly rigorous, almost painful young Perrieres with terrific cut and energy. A very classic style in the context of this vintage-or any year, for that matter. 91-94
2008 Meursault Cuvee Charles Maxime Usual Price $79.50 Pre-Arrival $65.00 A touch of sulphide on the nose that will appeal to many and adds complexity. A racy style for the vintage with attractive weight and a acid finish. A very good villages wine. Burghound: A classic Meursault nose of hazelnut, white peach and pear complements rich and nicely full flavors that possess good mid-palate fat and solid volume on the racy, intense and highly energetic finish. Good if not special quality here. 86-89 Drink: 2013+
2008 Meursault Narvaux Usual Price $85.00 Pre-Arrival $72.50 (Not available individually. Limit 1 bottle as part of the mixed dozen) I did not taste this wine as it had sold out. I have one case “to taste�. Burghound: A similar yet slightly more elegant nose that is also cooler marries into the naturally sweet, rich and delicious medium-bodied flavors that, like the Maxime, offer fine volume and mid-palate concentration that buffers the firm acidity on the racy and intense finish. In sum, this offers a small but noticeable step up in quality. 87-90 Drink: 2014+
2008 Meursault 1er Cru Charmes Usual Price $115.00 Pre-Arrival $99.00 Lots of pear and white peach with the usual spice notes of the domaine and honeycomb of the vineyard. A slight touch of complexing sulphides. Quite a step up in weight and power from the villages wine. The wine is not fleshy or fat and is concentrated and energetic on the finish. Burghound: Ripe, fresh and exceptionally pretty yellow orchard fruit, spice and citrus hints introduce rich, generous, fleshy and full-bodied flavors that are solidly concentrated and more mineral-driven than usual and culminate in an intense, attractively textured and notably dry and lingering finish. I particularly like the lovely balance and underlying sense of tension here. 90-92 A SWEET SPOT WINE Drink: 2014+
2008 Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres Usual Price $115.00 Pre-Arrival $99.00 Orange rind with a touch of pith, ginger and spice. The palate comes in waves and finished with wonderful tight acidity. Very racy and long. A great Meursault which already provides serious pleasure! My pick of the entire offering.
Burghound: This is less expressive than the Charmes but the purity of expression is superb with its discreetly spiced limestone-infused white pear and lemon zest aromas that are very much in keeping with the equally reserved, tight and firm middle weight flavors that evidence a fine minerality on the gorgeously detailed and persistent finish. I very much like this and while the finish is decidedly linear today, both the balance and the underlying material are present to allow this to blossom in time. 91-93 A SWEET SPOT WINE Drink: 2016+
2008 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champs Canet Usual Price $135.00 Pre-Arrival $119.00 More Puligny race and cut. Citrus and mineral. An excellent premier cru with a lot to offer. Burghound: A beautifully expressive nose of notably ripe yellow fruit, white rose, spiced pear and hints of lemon introduce detailed, elegant, layered and intense flavors that are unusually powerful, minerally, pure and gorgeously long on the palate staining finish. This is very Puligny in character and as noted, this is unusually ripe in the context of the vintage and while it's not presently exotic, it may develop in that direction with time in bottle. 90-93 A SWEET SPOT WINE Drink: 2016+
2008 Meursault 1er Cru Perrieres Usual Price $180.00 Pre-Arrival $159.00 (Not available individually. Limit 1 bottle1 as part of the mixed dozen) I did not taste this wine as it had sold out. I have one case “to taste”. Burghound: An ultra fresh and elegant white flower and citrus suffused nose possesses a copious amount of the usual stone influence that one expects from a classic example of Perrières combines with intense, delineated and mineral-driven flavors of striking depth and length. The quality of the underlying material is first rate and I very much like the understated Zen-like style here and this will be capable of many years of life. 91-94 A SWEET SPOT WINE Drink: 2016+
Mixed Case We’d like you to try the wines and have assembled a tiny number of Mixed Cases. There are only 4 Mixed Cases available so you will need to act quickly. Each case comprises 1 bottle each of the 12 different wines in this offer. Price is $1,200.00 per case. Orders confirmed upon payment.
Payment & Delivery: Your order will be confirmed upon receipt of payment. We accept Visa, MasterCard, cheque or direct deposit. Wine delivery per carton: Melbourne metro $10 flat rate. See our website for other destinations. Anticipated arrival of these wines is mid 2011.
Grand Millesime Pty Ltd 6/40 Batman Street West Melbourne Vic 3003 Callers by appointment. Phone: (03) 9326 5737 Fax: (03) 9326 6744 darren@grandmillesime.com.au