Sylvain Loichet, Corton Charlemagne Blanc

Sylvain Loichet, Corton Charlemagne BlancNA

Combe du Dessus

citrus rind and anise whiffs

There is excellent volume to the sappy and palate coating medium-bodied flavors that exude ample minerality on the dusty and ever-so-mildly dry finish that my score assumes will age out as it’s likely related to the February bottling

Here the soil speaks quite clearly

Only the return of warmer weather at the start of September imbued the vintage with a freshness of great Chardonnay in tune with the subtly restrained power of Pinot Noir and a soupçon of rounded Meunier – that final little touch making the wine more pleasurable to drink soon

despite a year in which what von Schubert described as nature’s eventual “turbo-autumn” was preceded by severe hail and an unprecedented tornado that felled 200-year-old trees and a portion of the vineyard walls – to say nothing of the toll it took on vines

but that is just fine

muscular young wine

brambly red fruit

The 1985 Rauzan-Ségla is a vintage that I have tasted several times from bottles I picked up cheaply some years ago

Supple and appealingly sweet

with smoked bacon and highly aromatic spice that grabs the attention