2012 Domaine Louis Latour Corton "Les Perrieres" Grand Cru 750 ml

A Powerful and Rich “Perrières” Grand Cru from the Hill of Corton

The hill of Corton, just one mile north of the medieval wine capital town of Beaune, the heart of Burgundy, is a majestic uplift that stands alone and aloof of other vineyards. On its top, looking more like a toupee, sits the forest of Corton.

The Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne Chardonnay occupies the upper slopes where limestone is the backbone of the soil. The mid-slope, rich in clay and bedrock where dinosaurs once roamed, houses Pinot Noir-planted Grand Cru vineyards of the likes of “Le Clos du Roi,” “Les Renardes,” and “Les Grèves.” The 12-acre parcel pride-of-the-house vineyard “Les Perrières,” facing southeast, sits just above the winery, Château Corton Grancey.

This past month, Louis-Fabrice Latour was in New York to start showcasing the newly bottled stable of 2015s. Thirty wines stood before us, mostly 2015s and a handful of 2012s. As we began a two-hour tasting that concluded with the virtually perfect Corton “Perrières” 2012, Louis-Fabrice spoke of the skyrocketing land prices that translate to higher bottle cost, as well as families struggling to make ends meet with the hail-induced 50-80% crop loss in the last three years. He spoke of the Clos des Lambrays sale to the luxury goods giant LVMH a couple of years ago, and the more recent majority-stake purchase of Bonneau du Martray, whose Grand Cru cellars are a five iron away from the Latours’. The Le Bault de la Morinière family has owned this gem of a property since the French Revolution. “Generations will pass before the investments will be repaid,” Louis-Fabrice told us.

With all that is happening around him, the land-rich 11th generation Latour took the Corton “Perrières” bottle in hand and said, “This is our prized centuries-old vineyard, passed from father to son, generation after generation, and quite frankly, the land is in our hands, in our children’s hands, we are one with the land and the land is our legacy.”

And what a prize it is. The 12-acre “Les Perrieres” parcel sits in an old stone quarry, with its perfect south-easterly exposure and its deep brown and red clay soils. And the powerful, structured 2012 “Perrieres” stole the show a few weeks back.

The 2012 Domaine Louis Latour “Perrieres” Grand Cru is deep ruby leading to a brighter edge. Lavish aromas of raspberry, black cherries, and violets, and a hint of new-wood cedar. Deep, dark, richly textured on entry, incredibly concentrated and lush flavors of crushed black and red fruits, sturdy and bracing through an astounding 45-second finish. Enjoy now and as it develops over the next 10-15 years.

We immediately jumped on the last 240 bottles. $140 on release, just $99 today — the BEST PRICE IN THE USA.