Uncategorized

Wine Review: Louis Latour whites in the SuperValu French Wine Sale

I’ve already offered my thoughts on the De Mour Bordeaux wines in the SuperValu 2021 French Wine Sale, so now it’s the turn of the whites from Louis Latour. These are all guest wines courtesy of Irish importer / distributor Febvre, and so are not normally available in SuperValu.

My article in April on Latour’s Grand Cru Corton Charlemagne gave a brief overview of the Louis Latour stable; this article includes wines from three of the six divisions.

Simonnet-Febvre Crémant de Bourgogne Brut NV

Simonnet-Febvre Crémant de Bourgogne Brut NV

Simonnet-Febvre is a venerable and venerated Chablis house founded in 1840 and purchased by Latour in 2003. It is the only Chablis estate to produce sparkling wine, and reportedly Louis Latour himself celebrated the acquisition of a vineyard in 1891 by cracking open three bottles of Simonnet-Febvre. Better than buying from the Champenois?

The assemblage is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, and the dominance of the former is notable on both the nose and the palate; the nose shows piercing lemon and lime and fresh citrus is evident in the mouth. There is a creamy aspect to this fizz, most likely from some time ageing on fine lees. A fairly low dosage of 7 g/L keeps freshness to the fore.

Warning: if you try this as an alternative to an “extra dry” Prosecco you might well find this Crémant too sharp (it has more acidity and around half the sugar of such Proseccos. However, if you prefer fresher, drier wines then this might well be your cup of tea. It would be great as an aperitif or with freshly shucked oysters – and it’s an absolute steal at €18.

  • ABV: 13.0%
  • RRP: €18.00 down from €29.99 from Thurs 2nd Sept to Wed 22nd Sept 2021
  • Source: sample
  • Stockists: SuperValu stores

Louis Latour Grand Ardèche Chardonnay 2019

Louis Latour Grand Ardèche Chardonnay

This wine is from Latour’s outpost in the…erm…Ardèche. It was established in 1979 with a simple Chardonnay, using Burgundian expertise to craft balanced wines in a different environment. The unoaked “Ardèche” wine was followed up by the first vintage of the Grand Ardèche in 1985. Fermentation and ten months’ maturation take place in oak barrels, 80% used and 20% new.

Oak really comes through on the nose, with lovely vanilla, toast and almonds. The nuts continue onto the palate which has texture, depth and great length, yet is perfectly balanced and poised.

This wine is made outside Burgundy but epitomises what great white Burgundy can be – all at a seriously bargain price.

  • ABV: 13.0%
  • RRP: €18.00 down from €22.99 from Thurs 2nd Sept to Wed 22nd Sept 2021
  • Source: sample
  • Stockists: SuperValu stores and SuperValu.ie

Louis Latour Chablis 2018

Louis Latour Chablis

Chablis has become something of a commodity for many people – it’s a brand in itself and often receives more recognition than producers’ name. Nearly all Chablis share certain characteristics: they are usually fresh and / or lean, with apple and citrus aspects. Some just stop right there, and there’s nothing wrong with those, especially if the price is right and the drinker just wants a simple, unoaked Chardonnay.

But some can offer more, much more – Julien Brocard’s La Boissonneuse is a great example of how good even AOC Chablis can be. I would put this wine in the same category; still unoaked and fresh but not lean, and most of all a fabulous intensity…the kind of intensity that makes you stare into the wine glass in wonder, before swiftly having another taste.

  • ABV: 13.0%
  • RRP: €20.00 down from €29.99 from Thurs 2nd Sept to Wed 22nd Sept 2021
  • Source: sample
  • Stockists: SuperValu stores

Louis Latour Meursault 2018

Louis Latour Meursault

Meursault is the largest prestige AOC for white wine in the Côte d’Or and has been one of my favourites for over two decades. The wines are usually somewhat oaked and generous, though rarely dripping with butter as the archetypal Aussie Chard used to be, and develop earlier than the neighbouring (and even more prestigious appellations of Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet.

Latour’s Meursault is made with grapes grown on limestone soils then barrel fermented and matured for around ten months. If this sounds familiar then it’s the template that Latour used for the Grand Ardèche above. It’s a delicious yet subtle example, elegant and balanced yet with a profound depth of flavour. It’s not going to convert many of the ABC club but it’s a magnificent wine that Chardonnay and Burgundy lovers should seek out.

  • ABV: 13.0%
  • RRP: €45.00 down from €65.00 from Thurs 2nd Sept to Wed 22nd Sept 2021
  • Source: sample
  • Stockists: SuperValu stores and SuperValu.ie

Conclusion

It really comes down to price; if someone else is paying then my hand would go straight up for the Meursault as it’s the best wine of the four, though even with the significant sale reduction it is far from cheap. If I’m spending my own meagre pennies then it’s really a toss up between the Chablis and the Grand Ardèche – both are excellent wines and great value for money at the offer prices.

Make Mine A Double

Chablis: Still or Sparkling?

This might sound like an odd (or even stupid) question, but bear with me. Among lovers of bubbly, especially those with a keen eye for a bargain, Crémant de Bourgogne is well appreciated. However, I would hazard a guess that only a small proportion of those folk would know (or care) exactly where in Burgundy those bubbles are made.

Under the Appellation Contrôlée system, Crémant de Bourgogne can be made from grapes grown anywhere in greater Burgundy, i.e.:

  • The Côte de Beaune
  • The Côte de Nuits
  • The Côte Chalonnaise
  • The Mâconnais
  • The Chablis region(!)
  • Beaujolais(!!)

Given Chablis’s northerly latitude – famously closer to Champagne’s Côte des Bar than to Dijon – its suitability for growing grapes with the high acidity and moderate alcohol required for sparkling production (not to mention an appropriate variety) should not be a surprise.  Rewind to the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. and sparkling wine from Chablis would be even less of a surprise – it was normally labelled as such.  Also, at that time, some Champagne maisons bought grapes from outside their own region and labelled their fizz as Champagne on the basis that they were made by a Champagne house.  This was one of the key causes of the Champagne Riots in 1910 and 1911.

I recently got chance to try two wines from the Chablis area that are included in the SuperValu French Wine Sale, one still and one sparkling:

Disclosure: both bottles were kindly given as samples, opinions remain my own

André Goichot Chablis 2018 

Maison André Goichot is a Burgundy Negociant founded in 1947.  They offer a wide range of red and white Burgundies, many of which are available at SuperValu in Ireland.  Also included in the current French Wine Sale are Goichot wines from Fleurie, Mercurey, Pouilly-Fuissé, Montagny and Mâcon-Lugny.

In the glass this is a pale lemon, as expected from a young and unoaked Chablis.  The nose shows lots of citrus, primarily lemon and lime, with a little green apple; it’s a little more fruity than some generic Chablis can be.  The citrus and green apple notes also show on the palate which is slightly lean in character, but not austere.

Chablis is known as a great match for shellfish – especially oysters – and this example would fit that role perfectly, but it also has enough appeal to be drunk on its own or with nibbles as an aperitif.  Great value in the sale!

  • ABV: 12.5.%
  • RRP: €19.66 down to €14.75 from 3rd to 23rd Sept (plus buy any 6 bottles save €10 from 3rd to 16th Sept)
  • Stockists: SuperValu stores and supervalu.ie

Simonnet-Febvre Crémant de Bourgone Brut Blanc NV

Simonnet-Febvre traces its history back to 1840 when a monsieur Jean Febvre bought a Chablis wine merchant.  Even back then, sparkling Chablis was a speciality of the firm.  By the next generation Simonnet was added to the company name and continued expanding through the years.  In 2003 it was bought by Louis Latour, but remains a separate entity and continues to make “sparkling Chablis” – alongside a range of still Chablis wines – to this day.

This Crémant is actually one of the five they make.  The assemblage is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir – traditional grapes for both Burgundy and Champagne.  The wine is made using the traditional method, of course, and spends a total of 24 months in the cellars.  Labelled as Brut, it has 7 g/L of residual sugar which puts it only 1 g/L above the maximum for Extra Brut.

Once popped it has a creamy mousse with a persistent bead.  The main aromas are of citrus and green apples, plus bready notes.  These continue through to the palate which is ultra fresh, almost tart (though in a pleasant way) due to the low dosage.  Simonnet-Febvre recommend serving this as an aperitif, or even with crème de cassis.  It certainly wakes up your palate!

  • ABV: 12.0%
  • RRP: €29.50 down to €24.59 from 3rd to 23rd Sept (plus buy any 6 bottles save €10 from 3rd to 16th Sept)
  • Stockists: SuperValu stores and supervalu.ie

SuperValu French Wine Sale posts:

 

**Click here to see more posts in the Make Mine a Double Series**