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Wine Description
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
Vintage 1997
1997 VINTAGE in Burgundy
The exciting Burgundy vintage in 1997 is regarded as having produced some of the most charming wines in living memory. The whites are notable for their richness and balance. Full, elegant and well bred, they are for great short to medium term drinking pleasure. The reds have fine intense colour, with well-ripened berry fruits on the nose, and smooth, fleshy flavours in the mouth. They are already very agreeable to drink and, their personality will develop further as they age
At the beginning of the viticultural year the weather was fair, very bright and dry. Bud burst for the Chardonnay took place on the first April and for the Pinot Noir the 10th April. Following this, we had an unbroken stretch of fine weather until flowering, as a result we were twelve days in advance compared to the average year.
The period between the 15th June and the 10th July was not good, cloudy, cold and wet until the 7th July and then stormy between the 7th and the 20th July.
The beginning of veraison (when the grapes begin to change colour) occurred on the 4th August and was completed on the 20th, 4-5 days in advance. There then followed a long, unusual period of dry weather. By the 27th August, we had had only 50% of the usual rainfall, the heat was intense throughout a thirty day period. Despite this there was no sign that the sustained period of hot, dry weather had any adverse effect on the vine and its fruit.
The harvest was particularly rapid, taking less than 10 days and was not once interrupted by rain. The weather conditions during the harvest were exceptionally good, it was hot, sunny and dry. As a result we were very pleased with the ripeness of the fruit in both the Reds and the Whites. In addition, the fruit harvested was very healthy with virtually no trace of rot in the Pinot Noir. The other interesting effect of these weather conditions was that the sun and wind concentrated the grape juice without reducing the acidity. We harvested the top Cru red wines at between 12.5° and 13°. In general, we had a medium sized crop for the red wines which are of a very high quality which will create some tension at the grower level, considering the international demand.
As for the whites, to begin with they were slow to ripen, but again we benefited from the good weather conditions during the harvest period, picking the top white Crus at between 13° and 13.5° and in terms of quantity it was a good crop. We are pleased with the quality too, which we believe will be very good, with less acidity than the '95's and '96's, they will be powerful and pleasant.