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  • Country ranking ?

    1 489
  • Producer ranking ?

    58
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Salads

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The Story

The Hill of Corton lies in the midst of a cluster of famous wine-growing villages – Ladoix-Serrigny, Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Savigny-lès-Beaune – with, to the north, the southern end of the Côte de Nuits, where vineyards mingle with stone quarries (Comblanchien limestone). The vineyards lie at heights of 250-330 metres and form a kind of amphitheatre not found elsewhere in the Côte. The Hill of Corton produces white Corton-Charlemagne and (mainly) red Corton, described by Camille Rodier as " le roi des bons-vivants " (or " the king of the bon vivants "). Corton Grand Cru received its AOC status on 31 July, 1937. A small quantity of white wine is grown but only the reds have the right to add the name of their "climat" to that of the appellation.

Exposure is south-east/south-west (not an arrangement frequently found in the Côte). The hillside offers a text-book cut-away illustration of the local geology. The Oxfordian Jurassic limestone lying between Ladoix and Meursault is younger (145 million years) here than elsewhere along the Côte. At mid-slope the gradient is gentle and the soil reddish and pebbly, derived from brown limestone and rich deposits of marl with a high potassium content. The Pinot Noir grape is pampered here. The Chardonnay grape (which gives us the Corton-Charlemagne) occupies the top of the slope.

The extensive area covered by this Grand Cru and the large number of different 'climats' (named plots) it contains explain the observable differences in character among the wines grown here.

The rare whites (grown mainly in the climats of Vergennes and Languettes) have a keeping potential of 4-10 years. Colour: pale gold with green highlights. Mineral aromas (flint) blend with butter, baked apple, bracken, cinnamon and honey. Elegant and highly-bred, supple and well rounded, this unusual Chardonnay has much in common with Corton-Charlemagne.

White: white Corton is a natural match for shellfish, fish, poultry in cream sauce, and goat's cheese.

Serving temperature: 12 to 14 °C

The Corton reds are an intense velvety crimson, darkening towards magenta. Their generous aromatic expression is of fruit notes (blueberry, gooseberry, kirsch cherry) or flowers (violet),evolving towards underbrush, animal, leather, fur, pepper and liquorice. On the palate this wine is well-built, powerful and muscular and the chewy body comes to the fore.Firm, frank and fat, it requires time (4-12 years) to reach its peak.

Red: solid and opulent, Corton is a Burgundy's iconic - highly complex, impressively mouth-filling in a way that is at once sensual and structured. For this reason, strong soft-centred cheeses and blue cheeses are needed to tame it. But, without question, its closest companions are highly-flavoured meats that match its powerful flavours and intense aromas. Indeed this wine is sublime with roast or grilled beef, or any and all game (furred or feathered) roasted, braised or - naturally - in sauce.

Serving temperature: 14 to 16 °C

 

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Vintage 1994

1994 VINTAGE in Burgundy

Not at all bad. A useful vintage for early to mid-term drinking. An unprecedented change in the weather at the beginning of September with a very wet first week, meant that the harvest was difficult. The quality of the reds was uneven and at Maison Latour, to maintain our standards of high quality, Grand Crus and Premier Crus wines were declassified and blended into their respective village appellations. The wines are perfumed and charming with soft tannins that have a correct balance between acidity and alcohol. They offer quality drinking and are developing well. The quality of the whites is much higher in general, as the Chardonnay is more resistant to unfavourable weather conditions. The wines are stylish with good balance between acidity, body and fruit. The overall quality is good, with a few wines of exceptional quality amongst the Grands Crus.

By the end of August Burgundy was preparing for a vintage worthy to rival some of the greatest years- It had been an exceptionally warm summer. However an unprecedented change in the weather on the 31st of August followed by the coldest and wettest first two weeks of September in over twenty years (8 degrees below seasonal norm) meant that plans and hopes had to be revised.

A mild Spring led to an early 'bud burst (10th April) although vegetation growth was then temporarily halted by a cooler end to April. May temperatures were average and considerable work was undertaken in the vineyards to halt diseases such as mildew, oidium and grey rot, the first signs of which were evident due to the wet conditions. Spraying and good weather in June prevented serious damage. A slightly delayed flowering (between 10th and 20th of June) was followed by fine weather and high temperatures (30 °C. - 33 °C.) only broken by occasional rainstorms refreshing the vines and aiding the "veraison" which had slowed during the dry spell, fortunately, the potentially devastating effect of hail were largely avoided apart from some localized damage in the Côte de Beaune on the 18th of July. 

The hopes of a great vintage were dashed as 3Omm of rain fell on the 31st of August and another lOO mm between the 7th and the 18th of September bringing forward the "ban des vendanges" to the 16th and 21st of September for Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits respectively. 

In summary, some of the 1994 whites will be excellent. Even at this early stage they are perfumed and charming, the lack of maceration in the making of white wine making the rot irrelevant. The reds, particularly the Premier and Grand Crus are already showing considerable elegance and finesse. 

 

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

The 1994 Coche-Dury Corton Charlemagne had corn, butter and cotton action, but it was tough to drink this after the previous two. 1994 is just not a great vintage, and after 20 years it was more obvious. It might have gotten a point plus higher if tasted first (90).

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Information

Origin

Beaune, Burgundy

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