2005 Corton Charlemagne
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Tasting notes
Pungent stone fruits, cold steel, marzipan and charred oak on the nose. Large-scaled, tactile and quite powerful, with captivating, utterly pure flavors of pineapple, wet stone and minerals. Wonderfully sweet and smooth on the back end, with a lovely light touch, but the dusty, tactile aftertaste is stony and uncompromising. I'd forget about this extremely backward wine for a good decade. (Incidentally, I retasted the 2004 Corton-Charlemagne next to this one, and was knocked out by the earlier vintage's almost peppery minerality; its powerful acidity and great cut; and its bracing, juicy flavors of cold steel, lemon and lime. This latest sample rated 96+?.)
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
An expressive and highly interesting nose of cool and fresh green apple surrounded by freshly baked brioche aromas leads to big, rich and sleekly muscled flavors that are quite ripe yet there is a very firm acid backbone that maintains outstanding focus on the almost painfully intense mineral-infused finish. This is a 'wow' wine that cedes nothing to the Montrachet in terms of power and weight.
Knockout nose offers underripe pineapple, ripe peach flesh, pungent wet stone and nutmeg. Dense, sappy and rich, with a lovely juicy quality to the apple and spice flavors. Ultimately leaner than the Montrachet, but no less intense. One has the impression of chewing this wine, as it dusts the palate with crushed stone. This, too, boasts an uncanny rising finish and really sets the salivary glands aflutter.
Cask sample. Fresh bottle was very chilled and too cold to release any aromas. Savoury and refined oaky, smoky palate. Very long. (JH)
About the producer
Bouchard Père & Fils is one of Burgundy’s oldest and most established wine producers. Founded in 1731 by Michel Bouchard, it is the largest vineyard owner in the Côte d’Or with 130 hectares of vines.