Maison Louis Latour - Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Chaillots rouge 2021

This family-owned estate, founded in 1797, is primarily associated with the Côte de Beaune, where it owns most of its vineyards, culminating in a magnificent plot on the famous Corton hillside. Louis-Fabrice, the eleventh generation of the Latour family, chairs the family’s board of directors and has complete confidence in his excellent winemakers. The reds have undergone extended fermentation, giving them more body and substance; the whites are less reductive and more harmoniously oaked than in the past, with a constant pursuit of balance that sometimes leads to them being underestimated in their youth, but they age magnificently. The 2017 vintage continues the successful tradition of the 2010 and 2015 vintages for both reds and whites, but we have more confidence in the wines from the estate’s own vineyards than in certain purchased grapes—especially the whites, which are too diluted.

A family-owned estate that has always been independent, founded in 1797 and run by 10 successive generations of the Latour family. A key player in Burgundy’s wine industry and the largest owner of Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte-d’Or (28 hectares out of the 48 that make up its vineyard). The grapes are vinified in Aloxe-Corton, the family’s birthplace, and the estate has its own cooperage.

Here is proof that Aloxe-Corton can produce structured and sophisticated wines. The flavors are all red fruit—but riper—with a hint of pleasant herbaceous character. The firm tannins develop beautifully on the finish, and a mineral freshness adds an extra dimension to this wine. Ready to drink now or worth cellaring.