2014 Louis Latour Puligny Montrachet Sous le Puits 1er Cru 750 ml

Premier Cru Puligny-Montrachet’s Shining Hour

Louis Latour is not only the most-recognized name in Burgundy history, but one whose reputation for quality is simply paramount. After all, 11 generations of Latours have cultivated vineyards in Burgundy, long before their portfolio included some of the most famous Grand Crus in Burgundy.

In short: they know how to produce exquisite wines from their bounty, and this is one of them. Today’s 2014 Louis Latour Sous le Puits 1er Cru is Spectator’s highest-ever rated Sous le Puits, with 94-points for its “linear and intense” and “focused” sensibility. 

There’s a very good reason that the critics have heaped praises on Louis-Fabrice Latour’s 2014 Sous le Puits—as Spectator’s Bruce Sanderson put it in his vintage report, “the 2014 vintage in Burgundy appears to be one of those rare breeds in the region—a year in which both the reds and whites are potentially excellent.” Spectator further reports, “The whites show a combination of ripe fruit, concentration and density on the palate, along with vibrant structures that should give them youthful appeal and allow for aging too.”

The poster child of that description is unquestionably this 2014 Latour white Burgundy. The stony, sloping soul of Sous le Puits, Puligny’s highest Premier Cru vineyard, is put front and center in the glass as notes of apricot and citrus mingle with green apple while baking spices are underscored by a subtle honeyed character.

Perched some 1,300 feet above sea level, the walled Sous le Puits almost looks like the guardian of Puligny-Montrachet. It’s the highest vineyard in the fabled slice of the Côtes de Beaune, and its lilting southeast-facing slopes and stony soil produce finesse-driven whites marked by the flinty-mineral backbone that makes the region the gold standard for Chardonnay.

Latour winemaker Jean-Charles Thomas had a field day in 2014, imbuing this vintage with the Premier Cru’s terroir-driven foundation of a vibrant structure, scintillating acidity, and rich, complex fruit layers. In a brilliant year like 2014, it reminds us why wine collectors stop at nothing for the chance to secure a Chardonnay from these coveted slopes.