Winery Overview
Focused primarily on Meursault, the Domaine Latour-Giraud estate owns an impressive range of Premier Cru and Villages vineyards between 20 – 50+ years old including the largest parcel of Meursault Genevrières, as well as Puligny-Montrachet Champs Canet and vineyards in Pommard, Volnay, Maranges and Mersault Caillerets. The history of Domaine Latour-Giraud extends over three centuries. The oldest known ancestor on the Route Nationale in Meursault is Jean Latour-Boillot born around 1680. At the time, the vineyards were already their main source of income. During the French Revolution, Jean Latour-Mouquin, grandson of Jean Latour-Boillot, was born in 1748. The Giraud family was originally based in the Côte d'Or, and the two families joined in 1958 through marriage. In the 1990s, Jean-Pierre Latour became the winemaker, bringing a cultural revolution to the estate with the adoption of organic agricultural practices and reduced yields to 25-35 hectoliters per hectare. Investments were made in new pneumatic presses, crusher-destemmers and temperature controlled stainless steel fermenting tanks. Jean-Pierre ferments only free run juice with wild, natural yeasts. The wines are aged on their lees and are fined, but not filtered, and bottled by hand. Unlike many producers who bottle all their wines at once, Jean-Pierre carefully monitors each wine and bottles at the optimal time over a 6-month period. Jean-Pierre’s whites are classic Burgundies: intense and concentrated, stylish and powerful, layered and balanced. They combine lemon, pear, quince and citrus fruits and hints of spice, smoke and toast with the characteristic mineral qualities of the soil. At the same time, they are lean and dry, focused and true to their appellation and vineyard site. 80% of their production is white Burgundy. The reds are destemmed and go through cold maceration for 5 days. Elevage is in in barrel (25% new) on the lees for one year. Racking is done just before hand bottling with no fining or filtering. Jean-Pierre’s reds are juicy and expressive with sweet, ripe, red and black fruits backed by lush, round tannins.