CORTON CHARLEMAGNE

2017 Propriétés Grand Cru Domaine Joseph Drouhin

EN PRIMEUR

All the Drouhin Corton Grand Cru fruit comes from the Les Languettes parcel. They've had a good crop this year making 6 barrels, which is getting back to a normal yield. Power and push dominate here. The fruit is certainly nicely rich and well-shaped but it is quite closed for now. The wine feels full on, with good structure and weight - then lifted and pushed on with lively acidity. This is fresh and firm and unrelenting. The intensity of fruit will certainly broaden the feel and fill out this brawny Grand Cru. For now impressive and brooding but there is lots to come. Drinking range: 2021 - 2027L&S (Nov 2018)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

(from a .33 ha parcel in Les Languettes). The restrained wood-inflected nose is comprised of green apple aromas that are tinged with hints of lavender, wet stone and citrus traces. The broad-shouldered and muscular middle weight plus flavors possess outstanding complexity with fine mid-palate concentration before concluding in an intensely mineral-driven finish that once again flashes excellent persistence. While this should improve effortlessly for 12 to 15 years, it could actually be approached after only 5-ish years. Drinking range: 2029 - Rating: 92-94 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jun 2019)

Very attractive wet stones and a wealth of hazelnuts and ripe, fresh and expressive lemons and white peaches. The palate has beautifully complete, fleshy texture, really seamless and underpinned by stony, powerful terroir-driven structure. Exceptional Corton-Charlemagne here. Drink or hold. Drinking range: 2019 - Rating: 96 Nick Stock, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2019)

The 2017 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is excellent, unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet citrus oil, beeswax, white flowers and oyster shell. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, layered and satiny on the attack, with considerable concentration and structuring dry extract, succulent underlying acids and a long, chalky finish. From the south-facing climat Les Languettes, this is one of the highlights of Drouhin's 2017 portfolio. Rating: 93-95 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Jan 2019)

The 2017 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru comes from the climat of Les Languettes and was picked on September 2. It has a rather mild, perhaps conservative bouquet that does not quite deliver the complexity I might have expected from a Grand Cru. The palate is better, featuring a taut, quite stony opening, a little salinity in the mouth and touches of black currant leaf and walnut toward the finish. Maybe it will offer more once bottled. [I notice that Stephen Tanzer finished his own tasting note wondering whether he underrated it. Without previously seeing his note, it would seem that I, too, expected a little more.] Drinking range: 2021 - 2033 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

Less dramatic initially than the Clos des Mouches but you can sense the power. Creamy on the nose in its rich leesy character but in a very positive way – richness not loss of precision. Stunning. Power and depth with really chiselled citrus fruit. Even with all this power it is still elegant. Endless. Drinking range: 2025 - 2037 Rating: 18.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Dec 2018)

Pale bright yellow. Very discreet, pure scents of anise, nutmeg and crushed rock. Dense, intense and classically dry; a youthfully brooding, rather powerful wine with strong acidity and a flavor of liquid stone. Quite unevolved, thick and palate-staining, finishing with a lightly tannic impression. A bit unrefined today but it's a bit early to get an accurate read on this very dry wine, which comes from vines in Les Languettes. Am I underrating it? Rating: 90-92 Stephen Tanzer, www.vinousmedia.com (Sept 2018)

Joseph Drouhin, founded in 1880 and still family owned, are one of the most well-respected names in Burgundy, especially through their flagship wine, the iconic Clos des Mouches.

A huge part of the Drouhin production comes from their own domaine fruit (78 hectares), and much of the rest comes from contracts such as that with the Marquis de Laguiche, who shook hands with the grandfather of the current generation, agreeing to let him manage his vineyards which included an important part of Le Montrachet; this collaboration endures. Today, the fourth generation is at the helm

Small refinements continue to be made here. The presses have been changed - a reversion to basket pressing for the reds, and for whites the presses are open - along with a number of other growers they are following the trend to think that slight oxidation of the juice before fermentation is not a problem and may add complexity as well as avoiding later problems of premature oxidation in bottle.

For the reds there has been the introduction of selective whole-bunch fermentation in the Côte de Nuits wines. The house style remains one that 'emphasises the natural elegance of great Burgundies' as they describe it. The domaine is all cultivated with an organic and biodynamic approach.

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Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

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