Latour Giraud
“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”
The Latour Giraud wines of 2022 have everything you could ask for; mouth-coating richness, palate staining intensity to go with purity and energy that almost seems endless. As many of them have started to arrive at the warehouse, I am now getting an in bottle taste, which confirms what I experienced in France at the end of last year. This is absolutely a fantastic vintage and I’ve been buying everything I can get my hands on!
I’ve been singing the praises of the Latour Giraud wines for a number of vintages now but these are the most compelling the domaine has produced to date. As I mentioned, I have been buying this vintage every opportunity they become available - this being my 3rd reload!
Be forewarned, with the eye-popping press delivered from Burghound at the end of June there hasn't been much available. While I was able to grab a nice little parcel from one of my suppliers last week (hence this email) I’m not sure how much more I’ll be able to source.
I’ll echo Burghounds sentiment here, if you have not yet purchased these wines, you are missing out on one of the finest White Burgundy producers in the “affordable” category. The Genevrieres is one not to miss!
“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.
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 .Â
- 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.
-Â Jasper Morris, 93-95
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.Â
- 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.Â
-Â 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.Â
-Â 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.Â
- 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.Â
-Â Jasper Morris, 91-94
