2011 Corton Charlemagne

2011 Corton-Charlemagne (from Les Languettes) is wonderfully salty, briny and energetic. Lemon, pastry, spice and slate notes develop in the glass, followed by a wealth of floral notes that give the wine its lift and inner sweetness. It will be interesting to see the direction the 2011 takes over the coming years. Today the 2011 is all about polish and refinement. There is a lot to look forward to here.

The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru comes from the estate’s own vines on the east-facing slopes toward the bottom of Les Languettes. It has an elegant bouquet with touches of beeswax, honeycomb and spice that are crisp and well-defined. The palate is medium-bodied with a smudge of lemongrass on the entry, a crisp line of acidity with fine tension on the finish. This is a respectable Corton-Charlemagne that just needs to come out of its shell. Drink 2015-2025+ It is always a pleasure to meet Veronique Drouhin, although this was actually the first time that I had visited their winery on the southern fringe of Beaune. “All the estate has been under biodynamic practices since the mid-1990s (including Chablis) and organic since 1988,” she said to me as we commenced the tasting. “We have been ECOCERT certified since 2009.” I asked her what tangible difference biodynamics have made. “The estate wines have a lot of depth and energy but what is really better is the pH,” she said. She also cited the arrival of head winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac in 2005 as another reason for the improvement in quality. Now their approach is for no compromise on the fruit and to exact precise viticulture for each vineyard. Veronique told me that their entry level Laforet aims to encapsulate the whole picture of Bourgogne. “We know the wine is consumed young so it is not heavily extracted,” she told me. “We look for a lovely fruity, round, elegant Bourgogne. You know, it is easier to make an Amoureuses than a Burgundy Rouge because of the quantity. It is aged in older barrels and it is bottled sooner than in the past.” Importer: Dreyfus Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770