From a wide range of parcels, many in well-known sites (but with so many premier crus on hand, it's small wonder he blends the fruit of his non-cru holdings) the Latour-Giraud 2006 Meursault Cuvee Charles Maxime smells of apple, apricot, lemon, freshly milled wheat, and chalk dust. Full and rich, honeyed and suggestive of dried fruits, it retains a slight but welcome hint of freshness and chalkiness in its finish. I anticipate that this will be best drunk over the next 2-3 years. Jean-Pierre Latour was one of those growers who got a jump on the 2006 ban de vendange in an effort to preserve freshness and clarity of fruit (although on that score, he professes to prefer his 2005s). The 2006 collection was slow to ferment and to undergo malo-lactic transformation; and from tank immediately before bottling, many wines struck me as somewhat disjointed and/or awkwardly marked by milk and new wood. Various importers, including Bayfield Importing, Long Island, NY (718)482 0200; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; and Stacole Fine Wines, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998 0029

From a wide range of parcels, many in well-known sites (but with so many premier crus on hand, it's small wonder he blends the fruit of his non-cru holdings) the Latour-Giraud 2006 Meursault Cuvee Charles Maxim smells of apple, apricot, lemon, freshly milled wheat, and chalk dust. Full and rich, honeyed and suggestive of dried fruits, it retains a slight but welcome hint of freshness and chalkiness in its finish. I anticipate that this will be best drunk over the next 2-3 years. Jean-Pierre Latour was one of those growers who got a jump on the 2006 ban de vendange in an effort to preserve freshness and clarity of fruit (although on that score, he professes to prefer his 2005s). The 2006 collection was slow to ferment and to undergo malo-lactic transformation; and from tank immediately before bottling, many wines struck me as somewhat disjointed and/or awkwardly marked by milk and new wood.Various importers, including Bayfield Importing, Long Island, NY (718)482 0200; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; and Stacole Fine Wines, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998 0029