2007 Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

De la Moriniere is always at pains to caution that his white |shuts down| for several years soon after bottling, but in that case I must have tasted his 2007 Corton-Charlemagne before that happened. Cooling herbal, restrained floral and bitter-sweet hints of black currant and citrus rind on the nose lead to a luscious tide of ripe yellow plum, white peach, lime, and grapefruit tinged with chalk, salt, and iodine. A silken texture in no way diminishes the impression of clarity and refreshment. Faintly honeyed and nut oil notes add a sense of richness and depth in a finish of utmost purity of refreshing fruit; clarity to mineral nuances; and vibratory energy. When one compares the 2006 side-by-side today, the latter does indeed show a more overt stoniness and - for all of its textural richness and additional amplitude -suffers slightly in comparison with such fresh fruit vivacity as accrues to the 2007. But either of these contrasting reflections of a great site should be well worth following for more than a decade.

Author: David Schildknecht

Much milder and better mannered and calmer than the 2008 on the nose. Very juicy fruit and well mannered, well balanced on the mid palate with some quinine and a certain amount of elegance - not massive in build. But rather less exciting than the 2008. Perhaps this is just in a pre-blossoming stage? Neat. pH especially low at 3.005, TA nearly 8.

Author: Jancis Robinson

Pale yellow. Complex nose melds lemon, lime, apple, flowers, powdered stone and sexy fresh herbs. Silky on entry, then quite firm in the middle, with the crushed stone element initially dominating underlying fruit. With aeration, this showed a richer texture and emerging citrus fruit and floral qualities. There's a slightly saline quality here and a firm spine but the wine avoids coming off as hard or rough. Still, its classically dry finish, with flavors of pineapple and crushed stone, give it a youthful austerity. This was bottled in the spring of 2009, and I would not be surprised if it went into a shell in the next 6 to 12 months.

Author: Stephen Tanzer

Issue: September/October 2009