Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
One supplier in Aloxe-Corton, one in Pernand. Now received in grapes, but picked on different dates, then made separately and blended. Pale lemon and lime, a softer bouquet than some but still with the requisite minerals. Generous across the palate but the stones are in the right place. Three 350 and two 228 barrels in total. Two of the 350s are new. A fine and indeed classic Corton-Charlemagne which leaves a very agreeable aftertaste. Drink from 2028-2035. Tasted Oct 2024.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru reveals aromas of sweet citrus fruit, ripe peaches, freshly baked bread, white flowers and struck match. Medium to full-bodied, rich and textural, it's a comparatively broad, unctuous rendition of this cuvée.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Vinous
The 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru has an effervescent bouquet, with just a little reduction and touches of yellow fruit and beeswax. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly viscous texture, lower acidity than the 2022, fine depth and a lightly spiced finish. The 2023 is a little difficult to read at the moment.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.