Appellations
Grand Cru · Côte de Beaune
Corton-Charlemagne
Aloxe-Corton · white · 52
The slowest and most austere of the great white Burgundies, on the hill's upper western flank.
Under the vines
Pale, marl-rich and cool, higher up the dome than the red ground below it.
In the glass
Tight and unyielding young; broad, saline and enormous between eight and twenty years.
Why it sits here
Spans three communes: Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Ladoix-Serrigny.
Commonly misread
That a tight young bottle is a poor one. More expensive Corton-Charlemagne is wasted through impatience than anywhere else.
Names worth knowing
Bonneau du Martray, Coche-Dury, Domaine Leflaive, Louis Latour, Rapet