2006 Maison Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet

The Latour 2006 Puligny-Montrachet (assembled in tank when I tasted it) features apricot tinged with caramel and the bitterness of the fruit kernel; an expansive, creamy, rounded but persistently piquant palate impression; and a moderately persistent, unruffled finish. Louis-Fabrice Latour and oenologue Jean-Charles Thomas presented a 2006 collection that displayed the opulent richness that one would anticipate from such a ripe vintage, and from the Latour house style. Sometimes these wines want a bit for clarity, definition and distinctiveness – occasionally they are rather obviously marked by dairy flavors from their malolactic conversion – but the best of them have much to offer. Since I did not have opportunity to include in my issue 179 report notes on the Chablis bottlings of Simmonet-Febvre – a domaine Latour purchased in 2003 (and which also bottles some lovely sparkling wines) – I have made note of them here. Louis Latour has numerous importers throughout the U.S.