Louis Latour Santenay 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Toasty oak on the nose of this wine has an almost floral aspect and projects creaminess. The palate comes in with mellow smoothness, carrying ripe red cherry with overtones of Morello. Freshness pervades the fruit on a sinuous palate., while creaminess dominates the finish.
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James Suckling
Very open and aromatic with plum, orange peel and some meat, following through to the medium-bodied palate with round, juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Slightly one-dimensional at the end, but very attractive. Drink now.
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James
Suckling -
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wine
Spectator
Maison Louis Latour is one of the most highly-respected négociant-éléveurs in Burgundy. Maison Louis Latour is the producer of some of the finest Burgundian wines but has also pioneered the production of fine wines from outside Burgundy's confines. These wines from the Ardèche and the Côteaux de Verdon are slowly gaining esteem for their unmatchable quality outside Burgundy.
All the grapes from the vineyards owned by the Latour family are vinified and aged in the attractive cuverie of Chateau Corton Grancey in Aloxe-Corton. The winery was the first purpose-built cuverie in France and remains the oldest still functioning. A unique railway system with elevators allows the entire wine-making process to be achieved by the use of gravity. This eliminates the threat of oxidation from unnecessary pumping of the must. Since 1985, Louis Latour has been selling the wines of its own vineyards under the name Domaine Louis Latour.
Louis Latour has been a leader in environmentally responsible winemaking for over 15 years. Louis Latour has had ISO 14001 accreditation for Environmental Management Systems since 2003 and has been part of the European association FARRE since 1998- a group of like-minded companies who seek to develop and promote sustainable methods of agriculture.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
In the far southern end of the Côte de Beaune, Santenay forms a little notch that juts into the otherwise straight border with Côte Chalonnaise.
Santenay red wines show the true essence of red Burgundy at good price points and without demanding a lot of cellar time. Enticing aromas of rose-petal, violet, red fruits and licorice lead to sturdiness on the palate. With soils rich in oolitic limestone and marl, this is the home of well-constructed, hearty Pinot noir and represents a fantastic region to explore if you are just beginning your understanding of red Burgundy.
Reputable vineyards of Santenay include La Maladière, as well as the Premier Crus of La Comme, Clos de Tavannes, and Les Gravières.