2017 Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorées Pinot Noir Burgundy 750 ml

Maison Louis Latour is synonymous with first-class Pinot Noir, from 100-point reds grown on tiny Grand Cru plots to stellar values from way-ahead-of-the-curve terroirs. And today’s Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorées Pinot Noir delivers that pedigree at a dynamite price.

This is pure Latour quality from domaine-grown Pinot Noir: a red that exudes aromas of fresh strawberries and candied red cherry along with forest floor and a hint of clove, all with a floral lift and fleshy tannins. Les Pierres Dorées is proof that the savoir-faire that has landed Louis Latour a 100-point Grand Cru extends to their grand values.

The stone archway felt familiar. So did the gently rolling vineyards. But the vineyard we were crossing into was nearly 90 miles from Latour’s Château Corton Grancey headquarters, reminding us that a visit with Louis-Fabrice Latour will always include something unexpected. 

That’s because Maison Latour, which has planted its flag firmly in some of the most renowned Grands Crus on planet earth, is always ahead of the curve. They shrewdly sniff out the soils that make Burgundy great and take their domaine to places that are perhaps insiders-only at the moment, but will be household names in a few decades. It’s exactly the kind of farsightedness that keeps a family business thriving for 220-plus years. 

The searching instinct that has led Latour south of the Cote d’Or before—to Viré-Clessé for Chardonnay and Mercurey for Pinot Noir—is what brought them to these vineyards outside of the villages of Theizé and Morancé in Beaujolais, where we gazed out on the vines that have produced Latour’s Pierres Dorées Pinot Noir since its first vintage in 2015. 

Bearing the Côteaux Bourguignons appellation, this bottle stands as perhaps the greatest Latour red value we’ve offered. Like so many of their top wines, this one is Latour from the ground to the glass. It’s not sourced from outside growers, but hails from seven-year-old vines planted on the iron-rich clay and limestone soils of the Latour domaine: two “islands” totaling 50 acres that Latour farms in this part of southern Burgundy, which the locals have termed “Little Tuscany.” 

It’s easy to see where the Pierres Dorées (“Golden Stones”) site got its name—from the rich ochre-colored soil we found ourselves breaking in our hands, revealing the fossilized oyster shells that lend minerality to wines from Chablis, Champagne, and some of the best sites in Burgundy. This area is also bathed in beautiful southern-Burgundian sunshine, which leads to exquisite ripeness, which is balanced by freshness fostered by the 1,000-foot-plus altitude of the vineyards. 

The final product from this unexpected site is something totally predictable: a stellar value Pinot Noir bearing the name of one of the most reliable producers in Burgundy. Whether you’re a fan of their bargains or a devotee of their Grands Crus, this is a Latour to keep stocked at all times.