2016 Louis Latour Les Genevrieres Meursault 1er Cru 750 ml

If there’s anything better than a rich, white Burgundy from the aristocratic appellation of Meursault, it’s a Meursault Premier Cru. This is a richly textured bottle of first-rate Chardonnay, from one of the most respected Premier Cru sites in all of Burgundy. In one pour, the 2016 Les Genevrieres reveals layers of pure, ripe fruits laden with fabulously mouthwatering minerality—a postcard stamped with sunshine from a vacation you need only to uncork.

Showcasing apple and baking spices atop a rich and luscious texture, Latour’s Les Genevrières is a refreshing, golden benchmark for Burgundy from a vintage that Master of Wine Jancis Robinson called ”seriously delicious.” 

From a village without any Grand Cru vineyards, Les Genevrières stands tall as an icon that rivals its Grand Cru neighbors and is known for its deft balance of delicacy and power. As James Beard Award-winning author Jordan Mackay points out in The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste, the site yields wines that are “crystalline in structure, at once gossamer and formidable.” 

Louis-Fabrice Latour’s Les Genevrières Premier Cru is right in the pocket.

This 2016 is almost dizzying in the glass, exploding with generous fruit flavors and ample mouthfeel with rich, ripe fruits that cascade from yellow apple and pear to tropical fruits, balanced by stark minerality and bright acidity for days. Brown butter and toasted oak spices mingle convivially, with aromas of golden apple, pear, and yellow flowers on a nose that is lush and rich, before giving way to a wine that is lively and energized on the palate, with flavors of quince, yellow apple, nutmeg, hazelnut, and a brilliant minerality.

The secret to Louis Latour’s value proposition is simple: 250 years of experience in Burgundy have given the family unmatched access to prime vineyard land, and unparalleled expertise in the cellars. After obtaining their first vineyards in the Côte d’Or in 1731, they have acquired choice parcels one by one, and longstanding family ownership means Louis Latour can offer stunning wines, like this 2016, for a fraction of what their Meursault neighbors are charging. 

Meursault is ground zero for white wine production in the Côte-d'Or. Latour’s Chardonnay from these rolling hillsides captures the essence of Burgundy, and channels it into a golden wine that showcases symphonies of orchard fruit, toasted hazelnuts, and saline minerality with ease. This is a cellar steal, direct from a French powerhouse.