Corton Charlemagne, Louis Latour 2018

**RANKED 5 in Winespectator Top 100 Wines of 2021**
With nearly 25 acres of estate vines in Burgundy’s Corton-Charlemagne—almost one-third of the appellation—Louis Latour is an important producer of this grand cru Chardonnay, with its version being the one Americans are most likely to find in restaurants and at retail shops. The vines average 30 years of age. Harvested by hand, the grapes are pressed and fermented in 100 percent new French oak barrels. The wine ages eight to 10 months before racking, assembling and bottling. 2018 was a ripe vintage; the timing of the harvest was crucial to strike the right balance. Latour’s Corton-Charlemagne shows great tension and an underlying mineral component that lends energy and length.

Here the beautifully layered nose is at once riper and more complex but also more restrained with its reasonably fresh aromas of apple, spear, spice, herbal tea and soft oak wisps. There is outstanding volume to the equally ripe and powerful flavors that exhibit a lovely underlying tension on the impressively persistent and attractively stony finish where the only nit is hint of warmth.