Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This slightly rugged version of Corton charms the drinker with its dense, plummy fruit and notes of earth, smoke, and cigar leaf. The texture is admirably compact and long, yet there is no astringency here. It is a powerful, classic Corton that will age for decades. The domaine farms four parcels that total 1.5 hectares; two are closer to the village of Aloxe, and two are closer to Ladoix. The latter are on Comblanchien limestone and deliver a Côte de Nuits style wine. The grapes were primarily fermented as whole clusters and are ageing now in cask (20% new).
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Jasper Morris
Four plots, two on the Aloxe side where the limestone is close to the surface, and two on richer deeper soil towards Ladoix. A rich powerful purple, unracked. Little wild berries. This is perfectly balanced in every dimension. It has tasted well since the beginning says Claude, and I certainly think so on today’s showing.
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.