2012 Corton Charlemagne (Heritiers)
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Tasting notes
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2012 tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru from Louis Jadot has a more complex bouquet compared to its peers with subtle yellow flower, beeswax and honeysuckle scents that gently waft from the glass. The palate is well balanced with a lightly honeyed entry and good presence in the mouth. It does not deliver otherworldly complexity, but there is a lot of "wine" here (to put it banally) with a pleasant tang of dried orange peel on the finish. This is worth seeking out.
Critic scores
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
Pale, bright yellow. Precise, vibrant nose combines ginger, medicinal herbs and fresh mint, with citrus fruits in the background. Offers a compelling combination of ripeness and energy, displaying great lift and penetration to the flavors of lemon, lime, crushed stone and minerals. Most impressive today on the rising, inexorable finish, which offers remarkable limey cut and clarity. Production here was a modest 35 hectoliters per hectare in 2012. "It's critical to control the yields in Corton-Charlemagne to make a wine of real grand cru quality," said winemaker Barnier. One of the superstars of the vintage.
There are sweet almonds there and considerable energy. It's relatively open for a grand cru – on the nose at least, even if there is a still a bit of chew on the end – but delivers huge pleasure. I'd choose Folatières for value but this is certainly worthy of grand cru status. Sweet and creamy relative to the Demoiselles 2012. (JR)
Heavy sulfur aromas flatten the underlying fruit. There is a highly appealing texture to the round, rich and generous broad-shouldered flavors that are very Corton-Charlemagne in character and culminate in an explosive and palate staining mineral-driven finish of sensational persistence. This is also quite compact at present but even so the length here is seriously special. Tasted: Jun 15, 2014. Drink: 2022+
About the producer
Louis Jadot is arguably the most consistent négociant house in Burgundy. It has managed to straddle both the entry-level and fine wine market, while retaining respect in both.