Winemaker Notes
The estate’s single acre of vines was planted in 1956, 1986 and 1994, and faces east. Hand-harvested. Destemmed and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature controlled tanks. Aged in French barrique (30% new) for 18 months. Unfined and unfiltered.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Pousse d’Or 2008 Corton Bressandes displays deep, roasted meaty richness – very domesticated and clean rather than gamey – allied to dark cherry and plum tinged with their pits and crushed stone. Landanger opines that his Bressandes is more struck by their very recent bottling than are his three (at the time I tasted) already-bottled premier crus, but I found this broadly rich Corton notably fine-grained in tannin and savory. I’m inclined though to take his word for it that there is even more here than currently meets the palate. Rating: 91+
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.