In a world wine market awash in inexpensive, well- made, fruit forward, easy-to-drink wines, Burgundy can be a tough sell.

French Burgundy is usually pretty pricey, somewhat scarce, with hard-to- understand labels, that for the most expensive examples can require a minimum of 10 to 20 years to develop their full potential. To some tasters Burgundy wines come off as thin and acidic compared to their new world cousins.

Recently we had the opportunity to taste some red and white Burgundys from the very well-respected Maison Louis Latour, one of the five major Burgundy producers who make wines from their own domains as well as from purchased grapes.

Louis Latour Grand Ardeche Chardonnay Vin de Pays des Coteaux de l'Ardeche 2005. The grapes were grown in the Ardeche River valley west of the Rhone River. Aged in used French oak barrels that previously held the firms famed Corton Charlemagne. Nice elegant butterscotch nose, with nice medium bodied fruit in the mouth with a touch of lemon.

Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Verdon 2006. Another not-from-grapes grown in Burgundy offering from Latour. Coteaux du Verdon is in the Provence region of France and produces grapes that reflect a riper international style of wine. Very impressive aromatics with plenty of pinot noir and floral elements. Cherries and violet flavors created a fine impression in the mouth.

Simonnet Febvre Saint Bris 2006. Simonnet Febre is a recent 2003 purchase by Maison Louis Latour. This wine is a real anachronism: produced in the Chablis sub-appellation of Saint Bris and made from 100 percent sauvignon blanc grapes grown in a normally chardonnay-only region. We really liked the intense citrus and herb nose and flavors. This is an intensely dry wine with bold acidity that really needs food to match well.