2020 Launay-Horiot - Latricieres Chambertin (750ml)

Domaine Launay-Horiot is, somewhat unusually, based in Pommard rather than Gevrey-Chambertin, and is run today by Xavier Horiot, a former French Air Force fighter pilot. His grandfather, Raymond Launay, acquired the family's two grand cru parcels, Latricières-Chambertin and Chambertin, in the early 1950s. When Raymond died in 2000, a family dispute nearly saw the domaine sold off entirely, and Xavier spent a decade in court fighting to save it. He preserved four of the original 11.5 hectares, including both grand crus, and the estate released its first fully domaine-bottled vintage in 2014 with guidance from consultant winemaker Véronique Girard.

The Latricières-Chambertin holding is a tiny 0.17-hectare parcel bordering vines farmed by Pierre Duroche. Xavier fully destems the fruit but handles it gently to minimize damage to the berries, favoring a light touch in the cellar that draws out only the cleanest, most refined fractions of the fermenting wine rather than pushing for extraction.

The wine shows a fine-boned, graceful character typical of the house style, with notes of raspberry leaf, damson, sour cherry, and blackberry, framed by delicate tannins and fresh, lifted acidity. It drinks well young but has the structure to reward extended cellaring.