2008 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru

Dark cherry, rhubarb, and red currant as well as hints of game inform the high-toned nose and tartly invigorating palate of Landanger’s 2008 Corton Clos Du Roi, which – tasted from tank – offers stark contrast with its sibling from the Bressandes. Alkaline, crushed stone, salt, and iodine-like mineral notes add piquancy to a long finish whose primary juiciness helps ward off austerity. I would anticipate 12-15 years of interest here. Patrick Landanger’s recent vintages seem to reflect increasing confidence (not to mention consistency), displaying a sense of restraint while combining richness and transparency to detail. Between the threat of rot and of roasting, he observes, the 2007s required more rigorous sorting than did the fruit from 2008, with a correspondingly lower crop, but Landanger and his crew did an outstanding job in the face of 2007 adversities as well as in 2008. Importer: Langdon-Shiverick Imports, Cleveland, OH; tel. (216) 861 6800 and a Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93