Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
A tiny plot at the top of the hill under the wood, picked late when the grapes are ripe. It started out in a one-year-old barrel then transferred with its lees into a wine globe. Bright mid lemon. Beautifully stylish on the nose, a very complete Corton-Charlemagne with fresh, stones and complexity. Stunning on the palate too, with the right mix of fruit, oak and reductive energy. Drink from 2030-2038.
Barrel Sample: 94-97 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru was sourced from a west-facing parcel at the top of the slope, where the domaine generally harvests around the same time as in Saint-Romain, and vinified for a full year in oak followed by six months in glass wine globes. It unfurls in the glass with aromas of lemon oil, ripe pear and pastry, complemented by a touch of smoky reduction. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, simultaneously incisive and grandiose, with a generous core of fruit—especially illuminating when tasted after the Saint-Romain bottlings—framed by a racy spine of acidity and a long, searingly saline and precise finish. Deep and layered, this is a superb wine from the virtuosos of Saint-Romain.
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.