Maison Louis Latour - Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru Les Quatre Journaux 2018

Deep color, a very refined and subtle wine, high-quality oak, perfectly integrated tannins—yet another outstanding vintage that is underappreciated by the market, and far superior in its purity of expression of the terroir to other, more sought-after wines.

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 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 in both reds and whites, but we have more confidence in the wines made from the estate’s own vineyards than in certain purchased grapes—especially in 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.

The star of the cellar is Latour’s 2018 Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru Les Quatre Journaux, a full-bodied, enveloping wine that bursts from the glass with aromas of cherry, wild berries, dark chocolate, rich spices, and orange zest. Full-bodied, rich, and robust, it is supple and full-flavored, with a long finish.

The sumptuous black cherry note dances enticingly across the nose of this wine, only to fade away again. On the palate, a firm yet supple framework supports all these ripe, creamy, and aromatic fruits. Compact, deep, and structured, the velvety body is also muscular. Energy pulses beneath the surface. For now, the wine is difficult to tame, but it will certainly relax and provide pleasure. Best enjoyed between 2030 and 2050.

A dense, structured young red wine with extraordinary depth and power. Though robust, it is balanced and refined. The bouquet of strawberries and ripe cherries is impressive, with notes of hazelnuts and mushrooms. But it is the texture that makes it exceptional—a testament to its superb structure. Best enjoyed after 2025.