Louis Latour 06 at Michy's in Miami

Wowee. Well, it WAS nice to taste through the 2006 Louis Latour Burgundies I suppose. I enjoy the wines occasionally, but they don't often rattle my rusty cage or inspire me all that much (except for the 1990 Corton Charlie, which remains to this day my benchmark for Louis Latour whites).

The 2006 Corton Charlemagne, at just this side of $100 per bottle, was pretty darn tasty, albeit young as heck, and peeking it's subtly floral head from behind the wispy veil of clean acidity. It was leaning on the verdant side of citrus, however, and I wonder if that will ripen up and soften out a bit with some years in the bottle.

I still remember my other favorite Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne, the 1995. Almost sublime, it almost whispered with delicate and precise ripe lemony freshness without any of that lemon oil bite, more like citrus essence in its cleanliness. It was a wine that made me stop and savor, and literally contemplate...

Yes, I am getting to the point, hopefully without too much hyperbole and beating around the bush.

Truth be told, Louis Latour wines of late normally bore the hell out of me unless they are unusually delicious. Tasting through the 20 or so wines at Michy's was just shy of a chore. Acrid aromatics here, and a hint of volatile acidity there. The Batard Montrachet not even open at all, the reds were poor except for the Aloxe Corton, and the food pairings were skimpily laid out for the drunks to feed on like seagulls. Don't get me wrong, the FOOD WAS VERY GOOD, but the perpetuation of the ruse that Louis Latour wines need food to taste good has gone too far. Here's the case where the saleperson butts in and proclaims, offended, "They are SUPPOSED to taste that way, they are meant to age, that's the terroir, it's unique." That's complete and utter bullshit. (In a world of Bentleys and BMWs don't oversell the Buick.)

Most of the wines don't have the structure, acidity, or charm to taste good at all... ever. They are boring to me, flat, thin, watery, and vegetal. No amount of aging, no heavenly meal will ever make these wines something special.

For a wine company to be so huge, and wealthy, these wines simply don't deliver. To me, it's disappointing and sad that the ambition for excellence is all but gone for this assumedly well- respected negociant. With all that money, I simply expect a lot more from the wine than what is currently being bottled.

Want a rating? D for DULL, or G for GENERIC. These are not the wines they used to produce. I will not buy them or recommend them. These wines are a waste of money. Period.

a.ferguson

here's a tip: Look for white Burgundies from Verget, or Vincent Girardin, even the most basic wines from them deliver more pleasure than the best from Louis Latour.