2007 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru 750 ml

2007 White Burgundy — Direct From the Catacombs of Château Corton Grancey

It’s been 35 years since we knocked on our first cellar door in Burgundy. Since then, we’ve visited hundreds more. All are cold, some frigid. Few are as deep — or as spooky — as the catacombs of Louis Latour’s Château Corton Grancey.

Last June, régisseur Boris Champy again led us down a series of dark, moldy staircases into Burgundy’s most Hitchcockian setting. An hour later, we were seated at the château’s tasting table in front of 31 bottles of vintage white Burgundy, none more stunning than this absolutely pristine 2007 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru.

M. Champy acknowledged that now, after six years in bottle, 2007 is one of the most enchanting white wine vintages of the last decade. His detailed explanation of the growing season drama helped explain why.

“The winter was very dry, with just one frost. April was very warm. We had four weeks of hot weather, with some days topping 30 degrees” (85 degrees Fahrenheit). “Flowering came early. At first glance, it looked like we were in for another hot vintage, like 2004. But by mid-May, the weather patterns shifted. For the next 10 weeks, we saw more clouds than sun. I don't remember another 30-degree day over the summer months. We picked in early September, sorting carefully in the vines, and then again on the sorting table. Honestly, we had no idea what to make of the vintage until the wines had spent two years in bottle. But by 2010, when we really began following our Chassagne- and Puligny Montrachets, we knew we had something very special on our hands — in terms of richness, minerality, and longevity.”

This 2007 Premier Cru, drawn from three parcels — “Les Embazées,” “Les Vergers,” and “Les Baudines” — is still a baby six years after bottling! Pale green-gold in color, with a gorgeous saline nose of ripe apple, orchard pit, honeysuckle, and ginger. Rich and weighty on the attack, infused with luscious flavors of ripe citrus, pear, and sweet quince, beautifully balanced, finishing with terrific mineral vibrancy. An hour after the cork was pulled, this superb Chassagne-Montrachet simply wasn’t budging, poised for another decade of slumber in the catacombs of Corton Grancey.

$75 on release. $45 today. The last 192 bottles of our allocation just hit port. Shipping included on 4.