Meursault Les Narvaux 2017

LATOUR-GIRAUD

Meursault Les Narvaux
2017

Country
France
Regulated designation
Appellation origine controlée (AOC)
Region
Burgundy
Subregion
Côte de Beaune
Appellation
Meursault
Varietal(s)
Chardonnay 100 %
Colour
White
Sugar
Dry
Producer's website

About this winery

The Latour-Giraud estate has been established in the village of Meursault for many generations. Focused primarily on Meursault, the estate owns an impressive range of Premier Cru and Villages vineyards between 20 and 50+ years old, such as the largest Premier Cru Genevrières vineyard in which two thirds of the vines are more than 50 years old. Latour-Giraud specializes in white burgundy, which accounts for 80% of their production. They own an impressive 2 ha within Mersault, and also have...

See the LATOUR-GIRAUD detail page for more information on this brand

Product notes

This famous climate of 16 hectares is situated in the highest vineyards of the village (on top of the last 1er Crus). Produced on thin and poor soil and substratum (multiple rows of lava), the wine takes the best features of the soil.

Production notes

Only the free run juice is fermented with wild, natural yeasts in barrels of which 20% is new. The wines are kept on their lees an appropriate time to balance texture and acidity while racking is kept to a minimum. The whites are fined, but not filtered, and bottled by hand. Unlike many producers who bottle all their wines at once, Latour-Giraud carefully monitors each wine and bottles at the optimal time over a 6 month period.

Tasting notes

This wine is beautifully aromatic with layers of minerality, spice, and a hints of zesty lemon and lime. It has bright, fresh acidity and is well balanced.

Press reviews

Vinous

- 91 points -

Stephen Tanzer , September 2016 (Vintage 2014)

Pale, bright yellow. Cooler, reticent aromas of white peach and powdered stone lifted by limey citricity. Suave, backward and cool on the palate but a bit angular, showing a greener fruit character than the Charles Maxime. With strong acidity, this sappy, salty wine really clamps down on the finish. Much more closed than the Charles Maxime and in need of patience.

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Vinous

- 91 points -

Antonio Galloni, September 2013

"Bright medium yellow. Ripe stone fruits and hazelnut on the nose; very Meursault. Yellow fruit and honey flavors are complicated by saline minerality and framed by firm-edged acidity. Shows building sweetness with air but this is also impressively taut for the vintage. Finishes seriously chewy, saline and pure. These old vines were especially vulnerable to the cold temperatures during flowering, said Latour, and the yield here was barely 30 hectoliters per hectare. The 4.8 grams per liter of acidity is the highest level among these 2011s."

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Vinous

- 90 points -

Stephen Tanzer, September 2017 (Vintage 2015)

Very ripe, musky aromas of nectarine, apricot and smoke, plus a buttery nuance. Fat and plush in the mouth, conveying an impression of surmaturité but also enlivened by sound acidity. Spreads out to saturate the mouth on the slightly phenolic, edgy finish; a very horizontal style but without the typical grip and verve of this bottling. Could use a bit more shape and lift.

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Vinous

- 90 points -

Stephen Tanzer, September 2018 (Vintage 2016)

(Jean-Pierre Latour used no more than 25% new oak for his 2016 white wines): Bright light yellow. Ripe peach and fresh apricot on the nose, along with menthol and soil tones. A step up in texture from the Cuvée Charles Maxime, as the yield here was just 30 hectoliters per hectare. Smoother and deeper but also in a distinctly saline style, this wine finishes with more refinement and length.

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Burghound.com

- 89 points -

June 2015

Here too there is subtle hint of matchstick to the more elegant and slightly more complex aromas of cool and fresh citrus rind, exotic tea, apple and white floral scents. The medium weight flavors possess a lovely combination of delineation and mid-palate fat where the supporting dry extract does a fine job of buffering the somewhat firmer acid spine on the admirably persistent finish. This is a lovely Meursault villages and well worth considering.

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Burghound.com

- 89 points -

Outstanding Top Value

Allen Meadows, June 2018 (Vintage 2017)

A slightly fresher nose combines aromas of lemon peel and acacia blossom with those of essence of apple compote and softly spiced pear. The round, rich and very generously proportioned medium-bodied flavors exhibit a hint of minerality on the more complex, clean and relatively dry finish. While not as forward as the Maxime, this too should drink well early on if that's your preference. Drink: 2020+

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Burghound.com

88-91

Allen Meadows, June 2018 (Vintage 2016)

Hints of olive oil and petrol add breadth to the pear compote and acacia blossom scents. Once again there is outstanding richness to the full-bodied flavors though in this case they are much more mineral-driven with excellent power and persistence on the markedly dry but not really austere finish. This is a big wine even for Narvaux and one that will need at least a few years to unwind.

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Burghound.com

(90-93) points

June 2023 (Vintage 2021)

(Latour noted that he made two barrels instead of the normal 12 in 2021). A cool, pure and beautifully layered nose blends notes of green apple and citrus with those of spice and toasted nuts. The super-sleek, intense and mineral-driven medium-bodied flavors possess terrific length on the moderately austere, bone-dry and tightly wound finale. This is easily of 1er quality and highly recommended for a villages-level Meursault.

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Burghound.com

(89-91) POINTS

June 2020

The cool essence of spiced pear is complemented by notes of citrus, mineral reduction and lavender. As is usually the case there is more evident minerality to the intense and delicious flavors that are not quite as dense but they’re both finer and more precise on the saline, dry and youthfully austere finale. Lovely.

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Vinous

90-92

September 2018 (Vintage 2017)

Cloudy appearance. Distinctly ripe but lively aromas of peach, lichee and licorice. Ripe, sappy and full, with its fresh apricot and lichee flavors enlivened by dusty minerality. Conveys a strong, sappy impression of extract. Fruity, saline and sweet in the middle, then classically dry on the aftertaste.

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