Winemaker Notes
Bonneau du Martray's vineyard run from top to bottom of the hill, where the thickness of the clays, silts, marls and different types of limestone make up a mosaic of soil with very different requirements and results: the parcels at the foot of the forest on the top of the hill give the wine a crystalline appearance, with floral and citrus fruit notes.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
Pale lemon and lime colour. A vigorous nose with a stony reduction, that allows the fruit to flourish alongside. Some citrus, then a really intense weight of fruit, on the cusp of white and yellow. Very pure, very linear, plenty of energy. Excellent texture on the palate.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Revisited from bottle, the 2018 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru has turned out very well indeed, unwinding in the glass with notes of crisp orchard fruit, fresh bread, orange oil and nutmeg. Medium to full-bodied, layered and elegantly satiny, it's deep and saline, concluding with fine grip on the finish. In this charming, demonstrative vintage, Bonneau du Martray has succeeded in producing a serious, age-worthy wine.
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Vinous
The 2018 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is airy and nuanced in the glass. Crushed rocks, mint, white pepper and slate are all finely sketched. Readers will find a wine of subtlety. There’s a touch of reduction that I suspect will always be part of the wine’s personality. Clean, saline notes extend the crystalline finish.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Prevailing over the charming village of Aloxe, the hill of Corton actually commands the entire appellation. Corton is the only Grand Cru for Pinot Noir in the entire Côte de Beaune. Its Grand Crus red wines can be described simply as “Corton” or Corton hyphenated with other names. These vineyards cover the southeast face of the hill of Corton where soils are rich in red chalk, clay and marl.
Dense and austere when young, the best Corton Pinot Noir will peak in complexity and flavor after about a decade, offering some of the best rewards in cellaring among Côte de Beaune reds. Pommard and Volnay offer similar potential.
The great whites of the village are made within Corton-Charlemagne, a cooler, narrow band of vineyards at the top of the hill that descends west towards the village of Pernand-Vergelesses. Here the thin and white stony soils produce Chardonnay of exceptional character, power and finesse. A minimum of five years in bottle is suggested but some can be amazing long after. Fully half of Aloxe-Corton is considered Grand Cru.