Recap of Pressoir.wine Session - the hill of Corton
October 6, 2021
by Edouard Bourgeois
The Hill of Corton
Last Tuesday we had an epic Pressoir.wine Session focusing on the largest Grand Cru of the Côte d'Or, the imposing hill of Corton. Here is a recap of the lineup of the evening.
Domaine Faiveley, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2015
The family purchased this parcel in 1874 along with the Corton “Clos des Cortons Faiveley” Grand Cru Monopole.
Key facts:
Exposition is east, soil of grey marls
Surface area: 0 ha 86 a 57 ca [2,14 Acres]
Years the vines were planted: 1933, 1935, 1987, 1988, 2010
Château Génot -Boulanger, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2015
Guillaume and Aude Lavollée represent the fourth generation of vignerons at Génot-Boulanger. Their wines are produced exclusively from estate-owned vineyards, located along all three Burgundy côtes, from Chambolle Musigny, down to the domaine in Meursault, and on to Mercurey. With 22 hectares, Génot-Boulanger is one of only a few family-owned Burgundian domaines to produce such a diverse range.
Since 2008, Guillaume and Aude have worked painstakingly to improve the quality of their wines, converting to organic farming practices and experimenting with biodynamics. The domaine’s philosophy is “maximum work in the vineyards for minimum intervention in the cuverie.” This has translated to wines that are first and foremost true to their terroir.
Genot-Boulanger’s 0.29 hectare parcel of Chardonnay was planted in 1940 in “Le Charlemagne”, and has a southwest exposure. The parcel has a perfect geological cross section: the Oxfordian Jurassic layers of bedrock are younger than in the rest of the Côte.
Jean-Luc & Paul Aegerter, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2017
Jean Luc Aegerter was the director of Champagne house Louis Roederer and then moved to Burgundy to start his own domaine in Nuits-St-Georges with the help of his dear friend Henri Jayer. 4 years ago, Jean-Luc’s son, Paul, took over the domaine after his father passed away. Their Corton Charlemagne is rich and intense, 50% new wood. The Aegerter estate vinifies the grapes from vines located in Pernand-Vergelesses on the place called “En Charlemagne”.
Paul is an innovator and likes to experiment with different kinds of wood: acacia, American oak, from Hungary or Canada. A very unusual practice in the very traditional Burgundy region.
After being harvested by hand, the grapes are destalked and then pressed to be vinified in new 500 liter oak barrels. The wines are then aged for 6 to 12 months in barrels that have seen two previous vintages.
Domaine Bonneau du Martray, Corton Grand Cru 2015
The former Bonneau du Martray holdings, now partly in DRC’s hands (about 7 ha), are located in the lieux-dits Le Charlemagne (Aloxe-Corton) and En Charlemagne (Pernand-Vergelesses). Domaine Bonneau du Martray has always been a force on the Corton hill – a historic force – with great holdings of vineyards in this unicorn spot overlooking Beaune. It once owned more than 24 ha on the Corton hill.
Although its vineyard holdings have been reduced over time, the Bonneau du Martray estate is still formidable, and parcelling out some of its vineyards will hopefully bring even more exciting wines from the famous domaine, helped by more manageable vineyard sizes and production numbers. Before the DRC lease, Bonneau du Martray had in total 11 ha of vineyards on the Corton hill: 1.5 ha of red and 9.5 ha of white. The lease ceded 2.9142 ha of Chardonnay vines to the Vosne estate, leaving the domaine with a more manageable holding of a bit more than 8 ha.
A great read from Paul Wasserman on Bonneau du Martray.
Domaine des Croix, Corton Greves Grand Cru 2015
General notes on Corton Greves: the 2.3 hectare (5.7 acre) site is located on the lower southern slopes of the Montagne de Corton hill, immediately northeast of Aloxe-Corton village. David Croix makes three Cortons: La Vigne au Saint, Grèves, and Corton-Charlemagne from Le Charlemagne (two plots). Domaine des Croix owns its plot in Les Grèves, one of the smallest appellations on the Corton hill with only 2.32 ha in total – smaller even than La Vigne au Saint. David Croix began to vinify the Grèves in 2009. With vines planted in 1960 – so getting quite old – he decided to use 25%-33% whole cluster in the vinification. The soil consists of brown clay with flints (in French, chailles) on Jurassic limestone, called by some Corton limestone. It’s a mid-slope vineyard, southeast facing. Light gravelly, sandy texture.
Domaine Chandon de Briailles, Corton Les Bressandes Grand Cru 2018
General notes on Bressandes: Les Bressandes is a vineyard 17.4 ha climat of the Corton Grand Cru appellation in the Côte de Beaune district of Burgundy. Around 20 different domaines and negociants produce Corton Bressandes Pinot Noir wines. It is the largest named subsection (lieu-dit) of Corton, and regarded as one of the best. The site is located about half a kilometer (0.3 miles) northeast of Aloxe-Corton village. The property's northeast end borders the commune of Ladoix-Serrigny.
The 17.4 hectare (43 acre) vineyard faces southeast about halfway up the Montagne de Corton hill, below the Corton Clos du Roi and Les Renardes climat.
In this middle section of the slope there is brown limestone with higher clay content - ideal for Pinot Noir. Les Bressandes is a rocky vineyard with meager topsoils, occupying the site of a former quarry.
It is the domaine’s top red, grown on soils of gravelly clay and limestone, 40 year old vines produced with 100% whole cluster. A tremendously structured expression, yet light on its feet and in both vintages already showing great nuance aromatically, thanks to the stem inclusion. One of the most balanced Corton wines.
