schiller-wine: Dining with a Giant: Louis-Fabrice Latour, Domaine Louis Latour, Washington DC, USA

Picture: Louis-Fabrice Latour and Christian Schiller

Founded in 1797, Louis-Fabrice is the 7th Louis Latour, representing the 11th generation of the founding family, to run Domaine Louis Latour. He was in town (Washington DC, USA) at the Fairmont Hotel on 2401 M Street NW to show the new vintage (2015), organized by Michael and Ed Sands (Calvert and Woodley).

Following the presentation of the 2015 wines, ranging from entry-level Beaujolais to 3 of the 5 Louis Latur Grands Crus, about 40 of us had the privilege to dine and wine with Louis-Fabrice. The selection of wines for the dinner was most impressive: Louis-Fabrice Latour poured only and all his 5 Grands Crus.

This posting provides an overview of the Louis Latour empire. Most of the text is from Louis Latour websites.

Louis-Fabrice Latour

Louis-Fabrice Latour, born the 29th of February, 1964 in Beaune (in the Côte d’Or, France), is the son of Louis Paul Latour, who was the Chairman of Maison Louis Latour, before passing on April 5th, 2016.

He has the distinct honor of serving as the 7th Louis to manage the family wineries. Louis-Fabrice Latour is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Science (class of 1985). After graduation, he worked a year at Paribas in Paris as Attaché de Direction. He became General Managing Director of Maison Louis Latour in 1999 and has also been the President of the “Syndicat des Négociants en Vins Fins de Bourgogne” since 2003.

Picture: Ed and Michael Sands of Calvert and Woodley with Louis Fabrice Latour

Domaine Louis Latour Bourgogne: The largest Grand Cru Domaine in Burgundy

Established in 1797, the Domaine has always been deeply proud of its independence and family ownership. Today, the Maison is overseen by the seventh Louis Latour, himself representing the 11th generation of his ancestral founders. With its 120 acres of vineyard holdings, half of which are Grand Cru, Maison Louis Latour possesses the largest holdings of Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy. The family estate, comprised of some of the region’s most exceptional vineyards, produces wines from each vintage renowned for their outstanding quality.

All of the grapes from the estate vineyards are vinified and aged in the attractive cuverie of Château Corton Grancey in Aloxe-Corton. The winery was the first purpose-built cuverie in France and remains the oldest still-functioning. Since 1985, Louis Latour has been selling the wines from its own vineyards under the name Domaine Louis Latour.

The Latour family founded the ‘Maison de négoce’, an important shipping company, in 1797, and it is still based at 18 Rue des Tonneliers in Beaune to this day. The company is unique in Burgundy in that it is still family-owned and family-run, having been passed down from father to son for ten generations over 200 years.

Maison Louis Latour ships its wines to over 180 countries worldwide. These world-class Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs can be found on the most famous dining tables around the globe.

Picture: The Vineyards of Louis Latour

Maison Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorées

Maison Louis Latour once again exports its Burgundian know-how outside of the Côte d'Or. After the great successes of Ardèche and Var, we have decided to repeat the experience by planting Pinot Noir in Southern Beaujolais.

The Pierres Dorées region is located about 40 kilometres North-West of Lyon. The "little Tuscany", as people call this region, takes its name in the golden stones used to build most of the buildings. The hints of ochre and gold in the limestone here come from the iron oxide.

Pictures: Louis Fabrice Latour Winemaker Dinner in Washington DC

Maison Simonnet-Febvre (Chablis)

Founded 1840, Maison Simonnet-Febvre is one of the oldest established traditional wine producers in Chablis.

Simonnet-Febvre now produces a wide range of wines representative of the different terroirs of Chablis and the Yonne. The house style has developed following the same principles across the entire range, from the famous Saint-Bris to our exceptional Chablis Grand Cru ‘Les Clos', and including our production of Cremant in the Yonne and Auxois regions. Located in Chablis and at Chitry-le-Fort, our historic buildings and modern infrastructures allow us to express the unique personality of Chablis and perpetuate a century-old tradition.

Picture: Michael Sands Opening the Dinner

Henry Fessy (Beaujolais)

Located in the heart of Brouilly appellation since 1888, Henry Fessy is a family company specialized in the production of the Beaujolais Crus.

By the year 1000, the monks of Cluny had already planted vines in Beaujolais, primarily on steep hillsides which faced the rising sun. Today our vineyards are still worked by hand using traditional methods to protect the unique characteristics of each vine. The Gamay grape is perfectly suited to this region and thrives in ideal conditions developing its full range of aromas.

Pictures: Louis Fabrice Latour Presenting his Wines

Louis Latour Ardèche

With a view to expanding the business in 1979, the valley of the Ardèche river with its clay and limestone-based soils was chosen as the ideal location to produce a top-quality Chardonnay wine. The Chardonnay d'Ardèche is aged in stainless steel vats for approximately 10 months. It is a fresh and easy to drink wine.

Pictures: Louis-Fabrice Latour and Christian Schiller

Louis Latour Var

Following our success in a region which, until then, had been relatively unknown for its wine, at the end of the eighties we decided to create an estate planted exclusively with Pinot Noir at Aups, in Haut Var: the Domaine de Valmoissine. This Pinot Noir is both a pure product of Burgundy tradition and completely new in the region. The very first vines were planted in 1990 on 35 hectares, and the estate has today expanded to over 100 hectares.

Dinner with Louis Fabrice Latour

Menu

Picture: The Menu

Pictures: Michael Sands with Fairmont Hotel Sous Chef Mitch Eldrige

The Wines - All Louis Latour Grands Crus

The selection of wines for the dinner was most impressive: Louis-Fabrice Latour poured only and all his 5 Grands Crus. I have included the regular prices for the wines. At the event, one could purchase the wines at special event prices.

Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2008 (US$110)
Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2010 (US$119)
Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey Grand Cru 2010 (US$125)
Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey Grand Cru 2012 (US§119)
Louis Latour Romanée-Saint-Vivant Les Quatre Journaux Grand Cru 2010 (US$299)
Louis Latour Chambertin Cuvée Héritiers Latour Grand Cru 2005(US$299)
Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey Grand Cru 2003(US$139)

Picture: The Grands Crus of Domaine Louis Latour Bourgogne

Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

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.

Château Corton Grancey Grand Cru

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.

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. At the end of the 19th century the Latour family acquired 0.81 hectares in the Chambertin Grand Cru appellation.

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.

Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru Les Demoiselles

Chevalier-Montrachet is a Grand Cru in the Côte de Beaune. 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.

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.

Reception

Chef's Selection of Passed Hors d'oeuvres

Simonnet-Febvre Crémant de Bourgogne Brut NV

First Course

Seared Sea Scallops
Potato Hash, Trio of Carrot Ginger, Cauliflower & Pea Silk
Orange & Grapefruit Supremes

Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne 2008
Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne 2010

Second Course

Fennel Crusted Atlantic Salmon Pavé
Vidalia Onion Preserve Sweet Pea, Mushrooms, Whipped Potato,
Carnival Cauliflower, Tomato Tarragon Caper Sauce

Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey 2010
Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey 2012

Third Course

Filet of Beef
Maître d' butter, Duck Fat Potatoes, Baby Zucchini,
Corn, Beet Raspberry & Parsnip Purée
Cherry Tomato, Easter Radish and Red Wine Jus

Louis Latour Romanée-Saint-Vivant Les Quatre Journaux 2010
Louis Latour Chambertin Cuvée Héritiers Latour 2005

Cheese Course

Black & Blue Goat Milk Cheese
Cheddar Marmac Cow Milk
Gouda Lusk Cow Milk
Apricot Preserve, Dried Fig Compote
Lavosh

Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey 2003

Louis Latour Walk Around Portfolio Tasting

Picture: Louis Fabrice Latour

Picture: Louis Latour Vineyards in the Bourgogne

The following wines were poured.

2015 Louis Latour White Burgundies

Beaune
Puligny-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet
Meursault 1er cru Chateau de Blagny
Meursault 1er cru Poruzots
Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru Sous le Puits
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Les Morgeots
Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

Picture: Louis Fabrice Latour

2015 Louis Latour Red Burgundies

Santenay
Nuits-St.-Georges
Vosne-Romanée
Aloxe-Corton 1er cru Les Chaillots
Volnay 1er cru En Chevret
Beaune 1er cru Vignes Franches
Nuits-St.-Georges 1er cru Les Damodes
Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Corton Grand Cru Clos du Roi
Corton Grand Cru Château Corton Grancey

2015 Simonnet-Febvre Chablis

Chablis
Chablis 1er cru Vaillons

2015 Henry Fessy Beaujolais

Fleurie Chateau des Labourons
Moulin-à-Vent Domaine de La Pierre

Bye-bye

Thanks Ed, Michael and Louis Fabrice for a great evening.

schiller-wine

Friday, October 20, 2017

Dining with a Giant: Louis-Fabrice Latour, Domaine Louis Latour, Washington DC, USA

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