Louis Latour Les Epenots Pommard 1er Cru

When the Latour family built France's first purpose-built winery into the Corton hillside in 1832, they engineered gravity-flow vinification across five subterranean levels — the same infrastructure that processes Les Epenots today. Les Epenots, one of Pommard's most celebrated Premier Cru lieux-dits, sits on the appellation's characteristic iron-rich clay and marl soils at mid-slope on the Côte de Beaune, conditions that drive deep colour extraction and the firm, structured tannin architecture Pommard is known for. In the cellar, 100% hand-harvested, fully destemmed Pinot Noir is fermented in large open wooden vats with manual pigeage over approximately 14 days, then aged in French oak barrique (15–35% new, medium toast, 10–12 months) — staves air-dried up to 36 months at the house's own cooperage in Aloxe-Corton. The defining technical transgression: all Latour reds are flash-pasteurised at approximately 72°C for 2–3 seconds before bottling, eliminating fining while ensuring microbiological stability — a practice no other major Burgundy house openly employs. The 2018 vintage delivered outstanding ripeness with preserved freshness across the Côte d'Or, producing Pinot Noir of generous fruit concentration and supple structure; drink 2024–2032.