Maison Louis Latour - The Grand Crus of Domaine Louis Latour

The Grand Crus of Domaine Louis Latour

Corton-Charlemagne

Corton-Charlemagne is a Grand Cru from the hill of Corton in the Côte de Beaune. It is one of the flagship wines of Maison Louis Latour. This vineyard is close to the famous "Clos Charlemagne" which was the property of the Emperor Charlemagne until 775. The word “Corton” is a contraction of “Curtis Othonis” which means “domain of Othon”, an emperor descended from Charlemagne.

Paradoxically, it was the gravest crisis that the Burgundian vineyard ever knew that caused the birth of this wine. The limestone rich soil at the top of the hillside had been ignored before Louis Latour – the 7th generation of Latour – decided to plant Chardonnay instead of the Aligoté that had been killed by the Phylloxera, a deadly insect. As homage, his signature still graces the Corton-Charlemagne label today. The Latour family owns 11 hectares of this gem; hence they are the biggest owner in the appellation. Situated at the summit of the hill of Corton, where one can also find the winery of Louis Latour, the vineyards reach a perfect maturity thanks to their southern exposure. They are overseen by the cross of Charlemagne, a monument given by the Hospices de Beaune in 1943 to Louis-Noël Latour.

Château Corton Grancey

The hill of Corton has been known for more than a millennium for the quality of its “terroirs” and perfect orientation. To honour the Maison’s rich history, the flagship “Château Corton Grancey” Grand Cru is made, which is entirely unique to Louis Latour and is only produced in the best vintages. It is a blend of four areas of Domaine Latour Corton Grand Cru: Les Bressandes, Les Perrières, Les Grèves and Clos du Roi. After aging individually, only the best barrels are assembled to create the Château Corton Grancey.

The word “Corton” is a contraction of “Curtis Othonis” which means “domain of Othon”, an emperor descended from Charlemagne. “Grancey” was the name of the last owners of the chateau situated on the road of Corton, before the Latour family bought it in 1891.

Chambertin Grand Cru «Cuvée Héritiers Latour»

Chambertin is a Grand Cru from the Côte de Nuits. This vineyard has been cultivated since the 7th century by the monks of Bèze Abbey. The name Chambertin comes from a peasant called Bertin (Berht-in, means son of Berht) who planted the vines in one of his fields next to the Clos de Bèze. The name “Field of Bertin (Champ de Bertin)” was adopted for the parcel and was kept even after the death of the peasant. Chambertin was the favourite wine of Napoleon 1st, even on the battlefield. Alexander Dumas also mentions it in his famous book The Three Muskateers « Nothing makes the world looks rosier than to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin. ».

At the end of the 19th century the Latour family acquired 0.81 hectares in the Chambertin Grand Cru appellation, forming a beautiful parcel extending from the top to the bottom of the hillside, closer to that of Latricières-Chambertin rather than Clos de Bèze. The terroir of Chambertin is legendary for its exceptional richness due to a geological phenomenon called "alluvial fan”. This deeply complex terroir is characterized by brown calcareous soils. It breeds a powerful and complex wine with a long ageing potential, combining the robustness of Pinot noir and the taste of the "terroir".

Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru «Les Quatre Journaux»

Romanée-Saint-Vivant is a Grand Cru from the Côte de Nuits. This appellation carries the name of the priory of Saint-Vivant, the monks were the first to cultivate the vineyards around Vosne-Romanée. The land has been known for centuries for its exceptional characteristics.

The Latour family has been proprietors of a part of Romanée-Saint-Vivant since December 1898. Fabled vines acquired from the heirs of the Marey-Monge and Larey families, Les Quatre Journaux is a magnificent plot of land situated at the South-West of Romanée Saint Vivant, a few meters from the Romanée-Conti vineyard. Today Maison Louis Latour owns 0.8 hectares of Romanée-Saint-Vivant. It offers a marvelously aromatic wine, with a velvety texture which culminates in a persistent and powerful finish in the mouth.

Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru «Les Demoiselles»

Chevalier-Montrachet is a Grand Cru in the Côte de Beaune. The name Montrachet is a derivation of the names Mont Rachaz (1252), Mont Rachat (1380) the Montrachat (1473). This evolution highlights why we say Mont-rachet and not Mon-tra-chet. In old French “la râche” means “bald”, etymologically speaking Montrachet therefore means “bald mountain because of its lack of vegetation. In the middle ages the Lord of Puligny passed down a vineyard to his eldest son the ‘Chevalier’ (Knight), who left France to fight in the crusades, hence the name of the appellation ‘Chevalier-Montrachet’.

The terroir of Chevalier-Montrachet is of notable exception because its brown soils, usually reserved for planting Pinot noir on, transform Chardonnay into one of the greatest dry white wines in the world. Chevalier-Montrachet sits higher up the same hillside as the Montrachet appellation, producing arguably one of the best white wines in the world. In 1913 Domaine Louis LATOUR purchased this 0,51 hectare vineyard from the widow of Léonce Bocquet, who initiated renovations of a part of the Clos de Vougeot. This vineyard carries the name "Les Demoiselles" in hommage to the daughters of an early 19th-century Beaune General, Adèle and Julie Voillot, who were the owners of the vineyard and who died without marrying.