The Regional Wines of Louis Latour

Four regional Burgundies from Louis Latour

Maison Louis Latour is a family-owned business, one of the most highly regarded in Burgundy. They have been making excellent value wines in a similar style from their vineyards in regional appellations very successfully for many years.

While prices for top Burgundies have increased steadily for many years now, these regional wines are more affordable.

The Ardèche Chardonnay and Bourgogne Gamay have plenty of easy-drinking ripe fruit; the Macon-Lugny and Terrasses Pinot Noir are more classically elegant.

Louis Latour Ardèche Chardonnay 2019 (from £12, Ocado, Bon Coeur Fine Wines)

Louis Latour arrived in the Ardèche in the late 1970s, as they looked outside of Burgundy to find alternative sources of high quality, everyday priced Chardonnay. They pioneered the planting of Chardonnay vines here, in what at the time was a relatively unknown area. Attracted by the hillside clay limestone rich soils, a consistent climate, abundant sunshine to perfectly ripen the grapes and a drying Mistral wind eliminating the risk of rot, all proved Ardèche to be the perfect place. Today, they have 350 hectares of vines under contract to local growers.

The grapes for Ardèche Chardonnay are treated as if they were grown in the prestigious vineyards of the Côte d’Or and vinified Latour’s winery in Alba. Louis Latour Ardèche Chardonnay 2019 is a fresh and appealing wine with considerable depth of flavour.

stone fruits and florality; orchard fruit, apricots, honeysuckle and sweet, slightly toasty spices; leesy brazil nut and good savoury underpinnings. Adept and harmonious

Good.

Serves as an aperitif; match with poultry, fish, and charcuterie.

Macon-Lugny Les Genievres 2020 (£17.99, Bon Coeur Fine Wines, Hennings Wine, House of Townend, North and South)

Mâcon-Lugny Les Genièvres, one of Louis Latour's best-selling wines, is from the top vineyards in the Mâconnais region. Mâcon-Lugny was introduced by Louis Latour, with the support of the successful Lugny cooperative, offering a very respectable alternative for a white Burgundy. Lugny is in the most southerly part of the Mâconnais where it borders Beaujolais, on land at 235-380m elevation, with limestone soils and the advantage of warmer days which gives the wine a refreshing, but riper fruit profile.

This is 100% Chardonnay, made without the use of oak, and produced from grapes grown in Les Genièvres vineyard on the northeast side of the village.

stone fruits, melon and honeysuckle; ripe pears, white peaches and melon with creamy-leesy oatmeal and spice; complex, broad and saline; very elegant.

Good.

Perfect with smoked salmon or simple grilled fish but with enough depth to work with a delicious plate of charcuterie or a simple pasta dish.

Louis Latour Bourgogne Gamay 2020 (From £16, Ocado, Majestic, North and South Wines, TheDrinkShop.com)

Bourgogne Gamay became a new regional appellation in 2011, a place that sits between the northern heartland of Burgundy and the sprawling Beaujolais vineyards to the south. Whilst technically part of Burgundy, the lighter, fruitier Gamay used in the wine must come exclusively from the best ‘Cru’ villages of Beaujolais Crus, which are situated on the granite hillsides in Northern Beaujolais. Louis Latour’s approach is to produce a wine which focusses on fruit and freshness with consistent quality, whilst still possessing the attractive characteristics of Burgundy.

On the nose this wine is more immediately fruity than a traditional pinot noir. Its light, crisp juiciness also makes it and a fine chillable red.

red and black cherries, violets and roasted spices; supple and inky with ripe cherry fruit, savouriness; good underpinnings and rounded, very fine tannins.

Good.

Match with charcuterie or grilled / roasted red meats.

Louis Latour Les Terrasses Pinot Noir 2019, (£15 Ocado)

Louis Latour have been growing Pinot Noir in the Var for over 30 years, creating, and producing wonderful reds from clones and rootstock imported from Burgundy. The conditions in the South of France are acceptable for this difficult grape variety with plenty of warm sunny days during the summer months and cooler temperatures at night.

The vineyards, at 500 metres above sea level, are a similar altitude to the finest Grand Crus and their southern exposure gives the grapes perfect maturity at the same time as the Grands Crus of Corton.

lifted red berry fruits, spices and mushroomy woodsiness; red and black cherries with savouriness, peppery spice, minty dried herbs and very fine tannins.

Good.

Match with ham or turkey, grilled red meats such as lamb, or salmon.