The bright ruby/purple-colored Corton, produced from vineyards owned by this old, Beaune-based negociant house, offers blackberries and blueberries in the nose and a beautifully ripe, medium-bodied, and silky core of black cherries and cassis. This well-crafted wine should be at its peak between 1999 and 2004. I have rarely been enthusiastic about Maison Latour's reds, vastly preferring their whites, but found myself quite impressed with their efforts in 1996. The score, on a range and in parentheses, indicates that the wine was tasted from barrel. Louis Latour is represented by a different importer in each state.

Tasted, but no tasting note given. Louis Latour is represented by a different importer in each state.

Latour does very well with his Cortons and the Corton Domaine Latour had a very deep color, layers of rich, ripe fruit, and showed a much more individualistic character than the other red wines. The Louis Latour firm is one of the most important houses in Burgundy. While everyone agrees their white wines are top flight, the red wines have been viewed skeptically ever since Anthony Hanson's book on Burgundy reported that they were pasteurized. This technique, which I have reservations about as well, has been used for almost a century at Louis Latour, and involves heating the wine to 70° C for 7 seconds, then cooling it immediately. There is ample evidence that the Burgundian monks used similar techniques 500 years ago. In any event, the red wines here in 1985 were above average in quality. What one does notice when tasting across the line of red wines is a certain sameness of character and taste. Is this a result of the flash pasteurization or just a house style of Latour? I do not know. Certainly the red wines are big, tannic, alcoholic, and age-worthy, but they do not represent the most complex style of red burgundy.

Ancient vintages of Louis Latour can always yield surprises and this 1959 Corton Greves Grand Cru is a treat. It has an elegant bouquet with open-knit leather, candied orange peel and dried-flower scents, vestiges of red-berry fruit in the background. The palate boasts fine, decayed tannins, very fine definition and real finesse on the long and tender finish. This is just a beautiful old Burgundy – no more, no less. Tasted November 2013.