2003 Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet Referts 1er Cru 750 ml

When The London Eye Shut Down

In Britain, in the late summer of 2003, rails buckled. The London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the Thames, was shut down; the heat inside the pods was too oppressive. London’s M25, the rocade that circles the town, was limited to just two lanes after the surface of the highway started to melt.

In Burgundy, 2003 would prove to be the hottest summer in history. How hot was it? In 2014, picking began in late September. In 2003, winegrowers were obliged to cancel their August vacations as the first calls to harvest came around August 20th.

We first tasted Louis Latour’s 2003s in the fall of 2004. The wines, both red and white, were extraordinarily concentrated. Natural sugar levels were historically high, with many of the top single-vineyards of Puligny-Montrachet and Grand Cru Corton exceeding 14% in alcohol. Acids seemed soft, but Boris Champy, the brilliant régisseur chez Latour, cautioned us: “Il faut attendre.” We needed to wait and see.

Last July, we were again invited to Château Corton Grancey. While touring the Hitchcockian catacombs of the château, we spotted a pyramid of bottles neatly stacked in a dank, stone niche. A small chalkboard placard lay on top, marked “PMR 2003.” We asked our hosts if they’d treat us to the rarest of treats — a Burgundian trip back in time. Champy and Louis-Fabrice Latour were more than happy to oblige.

What happened in Burgundy as train tracks were melting in Britain and the London Eye shut down? As we sipped, smelled, and swirled the 2003 Puligny-Montrachet “Les Referts,” Louis-Fabrice provided insight into the 2003 vintage on the Côte de Beaune.

“It was hard to remember over the summer months, but January and February of 2003 were cold,” he began. “But March was very, very hot. Bud-break in Puligny and Meursault occurred in early March, one of the earliest dates on record at Latour. A severe frost in mid-April decimated 35% of the crop. Then came the intense heat of June. We had a half dozen 100-degree days and as a result, we barely pulled a leaf, doing everything possible to shroud bunches from the sun. A bit of rain in August refreshed the deep-rooted vines of Puligny. Those downpours came just in time. Despite what was reported in the press at the time, we had no desiccation in 2003. No shrivel or blistering. We harvested at daybreak and we harvested quickly. The crop was very small, but very healthy. I always BELIEVED in the 2003 Puligny-Montrachet ‘Les Referts,’ but I never imagined a wine that would be so youthful 12 years after bottling, a Chardonnay locked in suspended animation.”

The 2003 Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet “Les Referts” remains brilliant greenish-gold to the rim, showing no sign whatsoever of its age. High-pitched on the nose, belying its age, offering scents of white peach, apple, juicy pear, and stony minerality. Fat, tactile, and saline, broad and round, giving shape and lift to the flavors of ripe citrus, orchard pit, and wet stone. Wonderfully dense and juicy with no rough edges. Finishing with piercing vibrancy and persistence, arguing eloquently for ANOTHER 3-5 years of cellar slumber.

$125 on release. Another price altogether this morning exclusively on WineAccess. The last 180 bottles — each drawn from the catacombs of Château Corton Grancey — are now up for grabs. Shipping included on 3.