2022 Latour Giraud Meursault
“I have said this before, but if you're not searching out these wines, you're missing out on one of the best kept secrets in Meursault… the Latour Giraud 2022s are first-rate and every wine is highly recommended”
In early June, we offered 2022 Latour Giraud Meursault and sold out! Since then, I’ve been talking with my supplier about getting another parcel, and as luck would have it, was able to lock up another substantial parcel the day before the latest Burghound report came out! Timing is everything.
I’ve been pounding the drum about Latour Giraud since 2017, and it's nice to see the world's authority on Burgundy sharing my sentiment. This is a monster vintage for this Domaine and I'm guessing this is going to vault this Domaine into the very upper echelon of White Burgundy producers. It's not often I see Burghound include 1er crus on his Don’t Miss List and bestow such lavish praise on the entire range of wines. I’m going to leave you with this quote from Burghound…
“The 2022s are so good, with the necessary caveat that they be well-chosen, that they not only should be in your cellars but they should be in your cellars in quantity. As I have already said, but in this context it bears repeating, 2022 is the best white burgundy vintage since at least 2017 (yes, better than 2020, if only a little), and it rivals, if not surpasses 2014 and 2010. I can’t offer a better endorsement than that.
~ Burghound Issue 95
As a reminder, here was our previous offer:
If you pay attention to White Burgundy, Latour Giraud is likely on your radar. It’s one I’ve had my eye on for awhile because of its high price to quality ratio. This producer has quietly flown under the radar for the last 5 or so years now (unless you follow my emails), but with the exceptional lineup of vineyards in their stable it's going to be hard to keep this secret much longer.
I’ve been selling these wines for a long time. They come and they go without much fanfare, but those of you that know the wines, you quietly scoop them up year after year. My only complaint about this domaine is that as demand grows, my allocation seems to be getting smaller every vintage. I did manage to buy this parcel before all the reviews, so that helped a little as far as quantity. Don’t think about these too long as they will disappear before you know it.
Here too whiffs of petrol and phenolic character add breadth to the aromas of essence of pear, orange peel and acacia blossom. The dense, sappy and beautifully textured medium weight flavors possess excellent depth and persistence on the balanced finale. This offers excellent quality for its level and is warmly recommended.
- Burghound, 90 Outstanding Top Value
Mid lemon yellow. The bouquet has a little softer orchard fruit compared to the Bourgogne, and is very true to its Meursault roots. The white fruit continues on the palate and is now joined by a saline note, while the ripe apples give an immediate appeal. There are little waves of flavour towards the back of the palate. Once again the aftertaste is fine, precise and thoroughly promising. Drink from 2027-2032. Tasted: October 2023.
- Jasper Morris, 90-92
Here a more elegant nose resembles that of the Charles Maxim save for a broader range of floral elements. The palate impression of the medium-bodied flavors is finer and more mineral-driven if not quite as concentrated, all wrapped in a youthfully austere, firm, balanced and bitter zest-inflected finish. One to look for.
- Burghound, 90 Outstanding Top Value
Fine pale yellow. The bouquet bursts out of the glass, but with a sense of tension quite different from Charles Maxime. Partly floral, partly fresh greengage, but with some riper tendrils curling round the edges. There is a backbone to this wine, and a sense of precision, which is deeply impressive. Then comes the flesh you would expect from this relatively sunny summer. This wine makes quite a statement. Good natural acidity is part of the equation. Complex and complete agrees Jean-Pierre. 55 year old vines which never over-produce. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted: October 2023.
- Jasper Morris, 92-94
Like the Bouchères, this is also relatively firmly reduced. On the palate though there is both excellent freshness and verve suffusing the finer and sleeker middleweight flavors that exude evident minerality on the impressively complex, long and impeccably well-balanced finale. This is excellent and a wine that should easily repay a decade plus of keeping. Highly recommended particularly for those who enjoy cellaring their whites.
- Burghound, 93 Sweet Spot Outstanding!
Medium to full lemon yellow. The nose has the sensuous richness which characterises Charmes, and the oak seems more prominent. No more new oak has been used for the Charmes but a particular barrel may have given this buttery edge. Jean-Pierre plans to fine this a little more to bring it more into line with the others. The core wine on the palate has the distinction of the other Meursaults, though the buttery note resurfaces at the finish. I have lowered the score based on today’s tasting but have confidence that the final wine will merit more. In fact, the finish encourages me to go up again. Nine barrels, two new, one an experiment, one traditional in its toasting. Drink from 2029-2036. Tasted: October 2023.
- Jasper Morris, 91-94
Firm reduction masks all the aromas except an interesting hint of exotic tea. There is again both good vibrancy and freshness to the finer still, but not denser, medium weight flavors that are almost delicate yet certainly don't lack for punch as the strikingly long finale is almost painfully intense. This is bone-dry but not especially austere and overall, one very classy wine. Buy it if you can find it.
- Burghound, 94 Sweet Spot Outstanding!
Some light green reflections in the primrose yellow colour. A stricter nose, perhaps a touch of sulphur. This may also appear more backward coming after the Charmes. Then a vast wealth of fruit on the palate and now we see the real wine. It maintains the herbal note I associate with Genevrières, alongside golden fruit at a perfect degree of ripeness. The fruit and the acidity weave in and out of each other. I would not want the fruit to be riper but it is full of charm as it stands, and kept in place by the precision of the structure. Very fine. Drink from 2029-2037. Tasted: October 2023.
- Jasper Morris, 93-95
Ripe and beautifully layered aromas of pear and apple compote, a broad array of floral elements, spice, especially anise and citrus confit are trimmed in admirably subtle wood influence. There is outstanding volume to the concentrated, powerful and serious yet wonderfully refined medium weight plus flavors that coat the palate with sappy dry extract on the tension-filled, complex and strikingly persistent finale. This is a big but perfectly balanced Champs Canet and once again, a wine that is well-worth a special search to find. In a word, terrific.
- Burghound, 95 Don’t Miss, Outstanding!
Three barrels! A fresh mid lemon and lime colour. More floral elegance here à la Puligny. Still ripe and sensual behind, but this is more typical perhaps of a 2020. A touch of bacon fat alongside the white fruit, plenty of energy, good acidity, the finish still fine if less compelling than the Meursault. Suggestion of honeysuckle. Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted: November 2022.
- Jasper Morris, 91-93
