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Wine Description
The Story
The Corton-Charlemagne is divided into 15 parcels, all of which are vinified and aged separately, until the second racking. When Jean-Charles took over the domaine about ¾ of it was planted to selections massales. The clones his parents used to replant were very good ones. But wanting to preserve the mutations specific to his vineyards, he has his own conservatory. For now, he still uses both clones and massales for vine replacements.
The domaine’s land is contiguous and is situated in the heart of the appellation, in En Charlemagne in Pernand-Vergelesses, and in Le Charlemagne in Aloxe-Corton. It most likely includes the 1.5 hectares owned by Emperor Charlemagne until 775. The vineyards are located on a diagonal that runs from the top En Charlemagne to the bottom of Le Charlemagne.
An oddity in Cote d’Or, the vineyard faces west —west/southwest in Aloxe, to west/northwest in Pernand. It is the only grand cru in Cote d’Or exposed to the setting sun and it gets substantially longer sunlight in the evening than the east facing slopes. Vines functioning through photosynthesis, Jean-Charles believes that this unique exposition is the main reason why Corton-Charlemagne stands apart from the other white grand crus, displaying extraordinary intensity, yet with little fat.
In 2006, Jean-Charles commissioned a geological study of his domaine. It revealed 9 distinct geological facies. In general, Corton-Charlemagne has almost no clay. Its topsoil is mostly silt that contains a lot of silica. It sits on a bed of white marl. Depending on where you are on the hill, the blocks of rock dip in opposite directions: down at the bottom of the slope, up at the top. There is a zone of faults in mid-slope. The sandy nature of the topsoil is a worry, and highly subject to erosion. The hill is steep for Burgundy, up to a 30% grade.
The west facing slope sits at the mouth of the valley of Echevronne, where Jean-Charles says there is a quasi-permanent breeze. Even when everything appears to be totally still, the direction of the biodynamic sprays leaves no doubt that there is air movement.
Vintage 1993
In Burgundy 1993, an early flowering in the month of June, was followed by a wet early July before a hot dry August. The reds of 1993 are outstanding. They are powerful and concentrated with a firm backbone of ripe tannins. The whites although austere to begin with and slow to evolve have developed into magnificent well structured, powerful wines. A vintage that produced wines built for ageing.
Once again, expectations were high in Burgundy for the 1993 harvest. The flowering was as early as that of 1990 (from 6-11 June) and August was very hot and dry . Despite the bad weather during the second half of June and first ten days of July, with rain and notably hail in the Meurault 1er Cru vineyards of Genevrères, Charmes and Perrières. Burgundy was looking forward to an early harvest of high quality.
The 'ban des vendanges' was set for the 15th September in the Côte de Beaune and 17th in the Côte de Nuits.
As has so often been the case, it was extremely important to undertake a crop thinning in 1993; for those domaines which did not, yields were high and sugar levels mediocre.
The intensity of colour in the red wine and a correct balance between acidity and tannins allow us to hope for wines of an above average quality. The vineyard which were harvested before the rains are particularly rich and elegant. Fortunately, the small berry size of the grapes meant a greater resistance to grey rot which could so easily have been a problem, with the wet weather.
For the whites, the deterioration of the weather in the Côte d'Or prevented the Chardonnay grape from reaching perfect maturity but the wines will nonetheless be pleasant.