Louis Latour : Corton-Charlemagne Grand cru 2016

The 2016 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is showing well from bottle, offering up aromas of lime zest, crisp green orchard fruit, fresh peach and pastry cream. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and notably saline, with a bright line of acidity to underpin its ripe fruit and an attractively penetrating finish. Though I would like to see more of the flesh and texture that I found from barrel, this has turned out well.

Latour owns 9.6 hectares in Corton-Charlemagne, mostly in Le Charlemagne and En Charlemagne, but also in Languettes and Renardes. The Latour style of Corton-Charlemagne is rich and sensual, with no shortness of creamy malo notes or oak spice. The 2016 vintage was no exception. Harvest began on September 24th and continued for a week to deliver this dense, buttery wine. Despite the richness, however, there is enough freshness here to balance, and the result is concentrated and long.

This is a formidable white that grows on the palate with dried apples, pears, lemons and hints of lime. Full-bodied, tight and focused. This is a tight and powerful wine. Phenolic and bright. This is an ager as always. Get it on release.

A year of constant chills for Christophe Déloa, the estate’s director; frost set them back by a month and yields will be meagre: –20 hl/ha. Slightly old-gold in hue, the colour promises a flavourful, concentrated bouquet, with a beautiful beeswax note close to fresh honey, white rose, mock orange, a gentle attack, a fluid yet mellow texture, and above all a sapid character with no bitterness on the finish, inviting you to set a lovely table.