2011 Corton Charlemagne
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru has a lovely bouquet with popcorn, brioche and a smear of wild honey just for good measure, all beautifully defined. The palate is very well-balanced with a mineral-rich opening, plenty of fresh pear and peach notes with a crisp, focused finish that does not quite have the persistency of a really top vintage. Still, this is a highly pleasurable Corton Charlemagne. Drink now-2024. I have tasted the wines of this Marsannay-based producer, born from the original Clair-Dau estate in 1979, since tasting my first Pinot Noir, and yet somehow I had never visited their cellars until now. Bruno Clair was on hand himself to guide me through the wines in his blur of French that at times can be difficult to understand, as if every word is joined together. As usual, at his side was cellar-master Philippe Brun. His is a relatively large portfolio spread over their 23 hectares of vineyard, which has expanded in recent years when leasehold contracts with Fougeray de Beauclair and Louis Jadot came to an end. While I found the white 2011s needing a little more precision and complexity, his reds are evolving into fine examples of the vintage and often exhibit a degree of finesse that I could not discern a decade ago. In particular, at the top end there is much to admire from wines that I feel belong within the top tier of producers. The domaine’s Corton-Charlemagne vines lie on the limit of Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton. Though they lie on the side of the latter, their orientation means that the wines tend to evolve more like those located on the Pernand side. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70. Also available in UK through Berry Brothers & Rudd and Justerini & Brooks.
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
Rich and blossomy. More opulent than many Corton Charlemagnes. Lots of fruit concentration even if at this point it's not 100% clear that it's of grand cru quality. Certainly one of the best Corton-Charlemagnes in the room at the J&B tasting. But very embryonic. (JR)
Reduction dominates the nose and renders it presently unreadable. There is really lovely vibrancy and minerality to the complex, long, serious and concentrated large-scaled flavors that possess outstanding depth and first-rate length. This should be excellent in time though it will definitely need a few years of cellar time first. Tasted: Jun 11, 2013. Drink: 2018+
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru has a lovely bouquet with popcorn, brioche and a smear of wild honey just for good measure, all beautifully defined. The palate is very well-balanced with a mineral-rich opening, plenty of fresh pear and peach notes with a crisp, focused finish that does not quite have the persistency of a really top vintage. Still, this is a highly pleasurable Corton Charlemagne. Drink now-2024. ||I have tasted the wines of this Marsannay-based producer, born from the original Clair-Dau estate in 1979, since tasting my first Pinot Noir, and yet somehow I had never visited their cellars until now. Bruno Clair was on hand himself to guide me through the wines in his blur of French that at times can be difficult to understand, as if every word is joined together. As usual, at his side was cellar-master Philippe Brun. His is a relatively large portfolio spread over their 23 hectares of vineyard, which has expanded in recent years when leasehold contracts with Fougeray de Beauclair and Louis Jadot came to an end. While I found the white 2011s needing a little more precision and complexity, his reds are evolving into fine examples of the vintage and often exhibit a degree of finesse that I could not discern a decade ago. In particular, at the top end there is much to admire from wines that I feel belong within the top tier of producers. The domaine’s Corton-Charlemagne vines lie on the limit of Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton. Though they lie on the side of the latter, their orientation means that the wines tend to evolve more like those located on the Pernand side. eRobertParker.com.August, 2013