2013 Louis Latour Beaune Blanc

Louis-Fabrice Latour’s “Petit Charlemagne”

This one’s short, but never sweeter.

While Jean-François Coche crafts the most priceless Corton-Charlemagne ($2,000/bottle), Louis-Fabrice Latour is far and away the appellation’s largest landholder. Louis Latour’s massive 25-hectare limestone swath, perched high above the variegated tile roof of Château Corton Grancey, is the most impressive Grand Cru holding in Burgundy.

But if Corton-Charlemagne is the family’s crown jewel, if you’re lucky enough to snag a dinner invitation chez Louis-Fabrice, Latour’s “house white” is this Beaune Blanc — aka “Petit Charlemagne.”

Drawn largely from Premier Cru Les Grèves and Aux Cras, with a splash of higher-toned Chardonnay grown on Montagne Saint-Désiré — all located a stone’s throw from Corton-Charlemagne — the 2013 Beaune Blanc is SERIOUS white Burgundy masquerading behind a proletarian price tag!

Brilliant pale-gold in color, infused with mouthwatering aromas of ripe apple and pear, a hint of anise and honeysuckle. Unusually rich and wound-up — as is so common among the top 2013 white Burgundies — dense and compact yet still terrifically vibrant. Serve this gorgeous Chardonnay as Louis-Fabrice does, in oversized Riedel. Give it 30 minutes of air, and wait for the fireworks to begin. Drink now-2022.

$45 on release. $29 today. 240 bottles are up for grabs.

• ABV 13.50%
• Enjoy right away
• % Chardonnay