Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir

Description

Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir is a red Provence wine made at their estate located in the Var. Along with their Grande Ardeche Chardonnay, it is one of Latour’s few projects outside of Burgundy. The Latour family have long been established in Burgundy’s wine trade. They began as vinegrowers in the village of Aloxe-Corton as early as 1768 and went on to establish today’s business, Maison Louis Latour, in 1797. Today they are one of the region’s most famous wine producers.

The Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine project was launched in the mid-1980s in conjunction with a local wine co-operative whilst Latour searched for the best land for their new estate. The first 35 hectares of exclusively Pinot Noir vines were planted in 1990 at the estate located at Aups in the Haut Var. Today the estate has expanded to over 100 hectares of vineyard. The estate is located on the site of the ancient monastery and university of Valmoissine (at 500 metres above sea-level) in the Côteaux de Verdon. The vineyards are situated at a relatively high altitude of 500m on a combination of clay and limestone soils with a fully south-facing aspect, perfect conditions for the cultivation of Pinot Noir. These unique growing conditions mean that the grapes benefit from a slightly warmer climate but are also enriched by the longer, cooler night-time hours. It is these cooler nighttime hours that give the wine its ultimate finesse.

The vinification of the Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir has always been identical to that used in by Latour in Burgundy. The yields are kept low to ensure the grapes mature properly and have concentration. The wines is made at the Cave La Verdiere, an old wine co-op bought by Maison Latour, which underwent extensive renovation and improvements in 2011. After harvest (hand and mechanical) the grapes are destemmed at the winery prior to fermentation in open stainless steel vats for around 1 week. The grapes undergo a gentle pneumatic pressing to avoid excessive extraction. The wine is aged in stainless steel for 10 to 12 months and is bottled as an Indication Geographique Protegee Var (IGP Var).

Sometimes available in 1.5 Magnums.