2019 Louis Latour En Chevret Volnay Premier Cru Burgundy 750 ml

2019 was one of those double-edged-sword vintages that have become a recurring challenge in Burgundy these days: historic in quality, but tiny in quantity. 

The warm, dry, truly great year had one vigneron comparing it to the likes of the legendary 1865. Another, Philippe Pacalet, reached for the great string of vintages between 1945–1949 as a comparison. Despite the season’s abundance of sunshine, the wines are fresh and brisk with impressive concentration, a sublime feat that left Stuart Piggott, writing for James Suckling, declaring that the vintage “has hit the bullseye,” with its “rare combination of excellence and great consistency.”

Volnay is famous for its graceful beauty, elegance, silky texture, and gossamer structure, and Latour’s 2019 Volnay En Chevret Premier Cru is a prime example that will make converts for life. It’s the holy grail every Burgundy lover quests for: a beguiling wine with beautifully spicy aromas and sappy red fruit—just a GREAT bottle from a benchmark vintage. 

En Chevret is a legendary Premier Cru on the steep inclines of the hill of Chaignot—among the best in Volnay, as are neighbors Clos des Chênes and en Cailleret. Grown in soils rich in limestone but also rocky and laden with iron, the cru’s magnificent grapes produce wines that deftly balance firmness and finesse, resulting in a rounded, delicate body. A southeasterly exposure that ensures generous sunlight then lends this wine its luscious fruit concentration.

This is Volnay at its absolute best, from a classic vintage whose supply is dwindling, and it's a beauty that will soar for decades.