Louis Latour Genevrieres Meursault 1er Cru

A family whose vine ownership on the Côte d'Or traces to 1731 brings a particular conviction to Meursault: Louis Latour's whites are fermented without settling, transferred hot into 228-litre French oak pièces to complete both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, then aged with no lees-stirring — a deliberate departure from the bâtonnage-heavy style that defines most Meursault producers. The result is texture built from oak integration rather than from stirred lees, giving the wine a denser, more resinous weight than its neighbours.

Les Genevrières sits on Meursault's mid-slope, where clay content in the limestone bedrock is at its most pronounced — the heaviest soils in the appellation's Premier Cru band. That clay retains moisture through dry seasons and slows ripening, producing Chardonnay with deeper concentration and a broader aromatic register than the lighter, more mineral Perrières directly above. Fermentation begins in stainless steel before transfer hot to barrel, preserving primary fruit while the oak regime — barrels coopered in-house from French oak air-dried 24–36 months — adds structure without dominating.

The 2018 vintage delivered outstanding balance of volume and freshness across the Côte de Beaune, the fifth consecutive fine white Burgundy harvest, and was approachable young without sacrificing mid-term development. What separates this expression categorically: Louis Latour applies the same no-lees-stirring protocol here that it uses for Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru — an unusually austere, oak-primary approach for a Premier Cru Meursault that most houses reserve only for their highest tier.