2006 Le Corton

The Bouchard 2006 Le Corton smells of violets and bitter-sweet, high-toned distillate of herbs and berries. Inner-mouth floral perfume and esterous high-tones persist throughout, and there is a cool restraint and stoniness that seem to reflect the wine's geological origins. A sinewy sense of structure is accompanied by some superficial tannic abrasiveness, which the fruit successfully rides out. I would plan on following this for 4-6 years, but – as with so many of the wines in this collection, and indeed this whole vintage – I'm skeptical about long-term dividends. Director Philippe Prost emphasized the importance of flexible and surgical picking (with a crew numbering upwards of 300) and getting his crop to Bouchard's battery of presses within two hours via a fleet of mini-vans. He insists that relatively little triage was necessary on the domaine vineyards (as opposed to those under contract) and the estate wines are certainly predictably stronger as a group. (I have generally mentioned in the notes that follow which wines are from Bouchard's domaine and which from contract fruit, but have explicitly noted this as part of a wine's description, only if there are two versions of the same appellation within the present portfolio.) The fruit was crushed very gently and the wines racked only once – at 10-14 months, than usual – explains Prost, in order to guard against exposed or drying tannins, a policy which my tastings suggest was generally successful. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6767