Wine Blog

This wine may seem like a mouthful. Compared to known California entities such as Sanford, Roar or even the more French Etude, this seven-syllable Pinot necessitates some serious tongue contortions. But the mystique behind the fancy French words is worth the extra effort. This mouthful of a wine is also one of the most mouth-filling, intricate Pinot Noirs from the Louis Latour estate (domaine) portfolio and it happens to be a consistent favorite among tasters at this year’s new release events.

According to Robert Parker, “The most impressive domaine in Aloxe-Corton is that of Louis Latour”. One cannot properly taste the wines of this village without dedicating the majority of his or her time to Louis Latour’s domaine Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Aloxe Corton is, afterall, the native village of the Latour family who moved there in 1768 to purchase a small estate of a few acres. Through the acquisition of Château Corton Grancey in 1891, Louis Latour III added another 70 acres to the family domaine, in the heart of the Montagne de Corton, crowned by the imposing château of the Counts de Grancey. Today, the Latours own just over 13% of the total acreage under vine.

The village of Aloxe Corton is situated just North of Beaune at the base of the Colline de Corton (the hill of Corton), whose slopes are graced by 21 red Grand Crus and 1 white. It harbors over 600 acres of vineyards, the fruit of which is among the most coveted in the world. The Premier Crus (there are a dozen or so that are famous) lie mid-slope.

Les Chaillots is in the middle of the Premier Cru strip, bordered by Grand Crus Les Grèves and Les Perrières and Premier Crus Les Fournières and Les Valozières. The terroir of les Chaillots is composed of limestone with alluvial sand and gravel. Not surprisingly, ‘Chaillots’ refers to the ‘cailloux’ or pebbles that nature sprinkled throughout the vineyard, similar to those one would see during a stroll through the Graves vineyards of Bordeaux. The main virtue of these pebbles, aside from their obvious esthetic appeal, is to reflect the heat of those brilliant rays of sunshine onto the Pinot grapes, thereby favoring ripeness.

Les Chaillots typically has intense and perfumed aromatics, which is classic in Aloxe-Corton. It is resolutely earthy and spicy, unloading cherries and licorice on the palate. In good vintages, this Pinot Noir can age a decade or more. It has longevity but is habitually approachable in its youth. Delicate and intriguing, Les Chaillots is a definite personality in the world of Pinot Noir.

Do you enjoy Pinot Noirs with finesse? Does the thought of delicate red berries, gout de terroir and perfumed spice make you salivate? Try our new release Aloxe Corton Les Chaillots 2006 this summer. If you get past the intimidating verbiage, we think you’ll come to the conclusion that this is astoundingly good Pinot Noir:)