Maison Louis Latour - Vineyards

Vineyards

The majority of Louis Latour’s Domaine vineyards are in Aloxe-Corton, the original home of the family. Here Latour owns 10.5 hectares (25 acres) of Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, one of the most famous white wines of Burgundy. They also own parts of Corton Clos de la Vigne au Saint Grand Cru, Corton Bressandes Grand Cru, Corton Les Chaumes Grand Cru, Corton Les Pougets Grand Cru, Corton Les Perrières Grand Cru, Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru, Corton Les Grèves Grand Cru. They also own parts of the Premiers Crus “Les Chaillots”, “Les Founières” and “Les Guérets”. Furthermore, Latour owns parts of the vineyards of Chambertin, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Chevalier-Montrachet “Les Demoiselles”.

Wines are made based on climate and terroir every year and Latour is very careful with the way in which they handle the winemaking. Louis Latour strives to embed the conditions of the terroir into their wine while respecting nature and tradition, which are the quintessence of Burgundy wine. Harvesting is usually carried out in mid-September. The key consideration when deciding the time of harvest time is the ripeness and condition of the grapes. At Maison Louis Latour the winemakers believe that 80% of the finished wine's quality is a result of work done in the vineyards. All of the red grapes are picked manually and harvested as late as possible.

The red wines of Domaine Louis Latour are still vinified and aged at the historical Winery Corton Grancey. Maison Louis Latour respects Burgundian traditions for the vinification of its red wines from the harvest to the final product. Only the finest grapes are selected and placed into traditional French oak vats for a short period of fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is drained from the vats. This is called free-run wine. All grape skins and pips are then removed manually and pressed gently by top of the range pneumatic pressing machines. The press wine is blended with the free-run wine and spends approximately 12 months in barrel. It undergoes three rackings to clear it of any deposit that may have collected. After bottling, the wine is allowed to settle for a further few months months before distribution.

White wine vinification differs from the reds in that the grapes from the harvest go directly into the press. The pressed grape juice, called must, then undergoes a rapid fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine is transferred into French oak barrels where it continues to age for a period of approximately 12 months. The wine undergoes rackings before the final blending.