This bottle of L Latour's 1976 Corton-Charlemagne has been stored
properly by me since shortly after release. Latour's Corton-Charlemagne
can be quite slow to mature and can last about as well as a red
Burgundy when conditions are correct. Some wines from the very hot year
of 1976 lacked acid and did not last so well, but this wine has plenty
of acid. The wine is about as big as a Chardonnay gets in Burgundy, but
fortunately it has very good balance. It is very full, has mineral and
considerable citrus and other fruit character, and a bit of oak. It has
a very long finish, and a somewhat creamy texture. The color is fairly
light lemon with no hint of brown. I detect no oxidation. There will be
no advantage in keeping this wine, but it is likely to hold well at
least a few more years.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> This bottle of L Latour's 1976 Corton-Charlemagne has been stored
> properly by me since shortly after release. Latour's Corton-Charlemagne
> can be quite slow to mature and can last about as well as a red
> Burgundy when conditions are correct. Some wines from the very hot year
> of 1976 lacked acid and did not last so well, but this wine has plenty
> of acid. The wine is about as big as a Chardonnay gets in Burgundy, but
> fortunately it has very good balance. It is very full, has mineral and
> considerable citrus and other fruit character, and a bit of oak. It has
> a very long finish, and a somewhat creamy texture. The color is fairly
> light lemon with no hint of brown. I detect no oxidation. There will be
> no advantage in keeping this wine, but it is likely to hold well at
> least a few more years.

I would have *loved* to have tasted that wine! It sounds like what I'd like
my Chardonnays to achieve.

Unfortunately, most California Chardonnays don't last much more than ten to
fifteen years. I've tasted exceptions to that, but they are uncommon. One
of the problems is that they are so delicious in their youth that they tend
to be consumed early and nobody bothers to cellar them! I must confess to
having done so with my 1996, 1997 and 1998 Chardonnays. :^/

I've become more restrained since then. I have almost a case of 1999 and
2000 left, as well as more than a case of 2001. I don't know how much of
this will survive the holidays. Come and visit and we'll assess the
situation. ;^)

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com

On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 07:16:51 GMT
"Tom S" > wrote:

] > wrote in message
] oups.com...
] > This bottle of L Latour's 1976 Corton-Charlemagne has been stored
] > properly by me since shortly after release. Latour's Corton-Charlemagne
] > can be quite slow to mature and can last about as well as a red
] > Burgundy when conditions are correct. Some wines from the very hot year
] > of 1976 lacked acid and did not last so well, but this wine has plenty
] > of acid. The wine is about as big as a Chardonnay gets in Burgundy, but
] > fortunately it has very good balance. It is very full, has mineral and
] > considerable citrus and other fruit character, and a bit of oak. It has
] > a very long finish, and a somewhat creamy texture. The color is fairly
] > light lemon with no hint of brown. I detect no oxidation. There will be
] > no advantage in keeping this wine, but it is likely to hold well at
] > least a few more years.
]
] I would have *loved* to have tasted that wine! It sounds like what I'd like
] my Chardonnays to achieve.
]
] Unfortunately, most California Chardonnays don't last much more than ten to
] fifteen years. I've tasted exceptions to that, but they are uncommon. One
] of the problems is that they are so delicious in their youth that they tend
] to be consumed early and nobody bothers to cellar them! I must confess to
] having done so with my 1996, 1997 and 1998 Chardonnays. :^/
]

Aww Tom. Us consumers count on you guys to put at _least_ a few
cases down from each vintage. Think of the Ch. Burbank library in
2030! Are there no limestone caves in Burbank??

] I've become more restrained since then. I have almost a case of 1999 and
] 2000 left, as well as more than a case of 2001. I don't know how much of
] this will survive the holidays. Come and visit and we'll assess the
] situation. ;^)
]

Now, will that help the situation in 2030?

The C-C sounds lovely, thanks for the note from the OP. I'm
a big fan of old white burgundy. (and old white Chateauneuf, and
old white Chenin, and old white Graves... hmm, a trend.)

-E

--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

"Mike Tommasi" > wrote in message
...
> Tom S wrote:
>> > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>>
>>>This bottle of L Latour's 1976 Corton-Charlemagne has been stored
>>>properly by me since shortly after release. Latour's Corton-Charlemagne
>>>can be quite slow to mature and can last about as well as a red
>>>Burgundy when conditions are correct. Some wines from the very hot year
>>>of 1976 lacked acid and did not last so well, but this wine has plenty
>>>of acid. The wine is about as big as a Chardonnay gets in Burgundy, but
>>>fortunately it has very good balance. It is very full, has mineral and
>>>considerable citrus and other fruit character, and a bit of oak. It has
>>>a very long finish, and a somewhat creamy texture. The color is fairly
>>>light lemon with no hint of brown. I detect no oxidation. There will be
>>>no advantage in keeping this wine, but it is likely to hold well at
>>>least a few more years.
>>
>>
>> I would have *loved* to have tasted that wine! It sounds like what I'd
>> like my Chardonnays to achieve.
>
> I finally got to taste your wine.
>
> Lots of deeply ripe concentrated matter with a good oak presence, could
> have waited another couple of years and the oak would have been more
> balanced, however you obviously use top quality grapes and the chardonnay
> character shone through, more like Macon than Cote d'Or if I must make a
> comparison, and more like Macon than California, meaning none of that
> excessive diacetyl, my friends really enjoyed it and so did I.
> Congratulations and thank you Tom.

Thanks, Mike! Glad you enjoyed. IIRC you got the 2002 - correct?

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com