Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuisse 1er Cru

Founded in 1797 by Jean Latour — whose family had tended vines since 1731 — Maison Louis Latour built its white Burgundy identity on a deliberately opulent, oak-driven philosophy that runs counter to the lees-stirring orthodoxy of the Côte de Beaune. That same house signature extends into this Pouilly-Fuissé Premier Cru: 100% Chardonnay, fermented in 228-litre French oak barrels (made at the in-house Louis Latour cooperage from air-dried French oak) with no lees-stirring, allowing the wine to build texture through slow oxidative contact rather than reductive autolysis. Pouilly-Fuissé's Premier Cru vineyards sit on the limestone and clay soils of the Mâconnais, where the combination of Jurassic limestone bedrock and continental warmth produces Chardonnay with more generous stone-fruit weight than the Côte de Beaune, while retained acidity keeps the structure taut. Malolactic fermentation completes in barrel, integrating oak and fruit before the wine is racked to stainless steel and bottled — from the 2022 vintage onward, under Diam 30 closure, a significant shift from cork for the house. The deliberate refusal to stir lees is the defining transgression here: where most Mâconnais producers build creaminess through bâtonnage, Latour achieves richness purely through oak integration and site weight. The 2022 vintage delivered vivid natural acidity alongside plush, ripe fruit — a combination that suits this fuller-bodied, toasty house style particularly well.