Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
From its perch high on the slope, the 1.5-hectare domaine parcel of Bressandes has delivered a wine of deep colour with slightly reticent plummy fruit aromas coloured with notes of earth, smoke, and spice. The texture is balanced and elegant, and the inclusion of 80% of the fruit as whole clusters assures a good amount of liveliness (‘peps’, according to winemaker Claude de Nicolay). The lovely balance leads this wine to a subtly lingering finish that will drink young but should age brilliantly.
-
Wine Spectator
This pure red reveals cherry, raspberry, rose and spice flavors. Though rich and dense, this is also graceful, with notes of sandalwood and oak spice, plus a hint of caramel on the finish. Best from 2026 through 2043. 39 cases made, 20 cases imported.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
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.