Louis Latour Agencies
Producers
Louis Latour
The Region
Burgundy
Burgundy, located in eastern France, is split into five regions from Chablis in the far north, down through the heartlands of the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune and finally through to the Châlonnaise and the Mâconnais in the South.
There are four levels of appellation in Burgundy. 28 regional appellations produce wines such as Bourgogne Rouge and Mâcon-Villages; Communal appellations whose wines come from village locations such as Pouilly-Fuisse, Meursault and Aloxe-Corton. Next we find special sites within the village appellation; Premier Crus which produces wines with unique characteristics and qualities and finally Grand Cru which represents the crème de la crème and account for just one percent of Burgundy's entire production. The grand crus are only found in the Côtes de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. This whole system can be represented by a pyramid with the regional appellations, and most numerous wines, forming its base and the rare Grand Crus at its pinnacle.
Chablis
A small wine region producing dry and steely white wines located to the south of the Champagne region. The best vineyard sites, the Grand Crus, lie on the south-west facing slopes of the Serein Valley just outside the town of Chablis. Although part of Burgundy the Chablis region lies more than an hour away from Dijon and is quite separate from the rest of Burgundy.
Beaujolais
A pretty region just south of Burgundy producing fruity, mainly red wines from the Gamay grape. The flatter land in the southern part of the region accounts for about half the production of AC Beaujolais. A quarter of wines made are Beaujolais Village wines from the hillier sites. Finally, the regions finest wines come from the ten 'crus' in the northern half of the area: Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Régnié and St Amour.
Ardeche and Var
The Ardeche region is located in the Southern Rhone valley where growing Chardonnay was previously unknown. Maison Louis Latour were attracted by the climate and the clay limestone soils that are perfect for the Chardonnay vine. The consistent climate and abundant sunshine perfectly ripen the grapes, whilst the drying Mistral wind eliminates the risk of rot.
The Domaine de Valmoissine in Var is a high altitude site by a former monastery in northern Provence, sitting at 500m above sea level in the Verdon Hills. Pinot Noir was not known to grow successfully in the high temperatures of Southern France but the high altitude location helped to temper the warm Provence summer days and brought cool nights and the benefits of the Mistral wind.
Les Pierres Dorées
Located 40 kilometres north-west of Lyon, Les Pierres Dorées lies on undulating hillsides amongst 39 villages. Traditionally planted with Gamay, Louis Latour recognised the potential for the Pinot Noir vines in this region. The vineyards are located on gently sloping hills and benefit from good sun exposure. They are located between 280-380 metres above sea level and benefit from a continental climate which ensures that the grapes ripen slowly and retain good acidity levels.