Domaine du Château de Meursault, Corton Grand Cru, 2015

Domaine du Château de Meursault, Corton Grand Cru, 2015

  • icon-type Type

    Red

  • icon-year Year

    2015

  • icon-style Style

    Dry

  • icon-country Country

    France

  • icon-alcohollevel Alcohol level

    13%

  • icon-grapevariety Grape variety
    Pinot Noir 100%

The only red Grand Cru from the Côte de Beaune, the Corton Grand Cru is well known as one of the best Burgundy wines due to its aromatic power and great ageing potential.

With a wide and outstanding bouquet, this wine is the expression of fruity and floral accents, developing woody notes. The palate is powerful, full-bodied and well-balanced. The aromatic and tannic elegance of the wines from Corton is revealed through a long length and a very pleasant finish.

A lesser known detail...

Château de Meursault, whose history goes back one thousand years, produces this Corton from 2 tiny plots, Le Rognet and Corton, within the middle of the hill of Corton itself. The parcel was given the name “Rognet”, or “rounded”, after the land was trimmed and made smaller over time.

About Domaine du Château de Meursault

Domaine du Château de Meursault is a Burgundian wine producer located in Meursault. The property itself has a history dating back to the 11th century and is home to cellars that are regarded as some of Burgundy’s finest – they date back to the 12th, 14th, and 16th centuries and hold some 800,000 bottles and more than 2000 barrels. The majority of the chateau's vineyard land includes classified Premier and Grand Crus with impressive AOP land in Aloxe-Corton, Corton Grand Cru, Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Puligny-Montrachet, and Meursault. The château produces about equal amounts of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and has been owned by the Halley family since 2012, also owners of Château de Marsannay.

Château de Meursault's vineyard holdings span more than 60 hectares (148 acres) in the Côte de Beaune and are mainly composed of three soil types: hard limestone, marly limestone, and calcareous alluvium. Around 80 percent of the vineyards are located within one mile (2km) of the château which is located on 10ha (25 acres), including an 8-ha (20 acre) parcel of Chardonnay vines planted in 1973. The estate's top climats in Meursault include Charmes, Clos de Perrières, and the monopoly, Clos des Grands Charrons.

Grapes are harvested by hand and immediately sorted at the winery. Vinification decisions are largely determined by the terroir and vintage of each wine. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay barrel mature from 12 to 18 months in French oak barrels, generally 30 percent new. Barrels are only used for up to three years. The wines are bottled in replicas of 18th century falcon bottles and age in the château's historic cellars before release.

Grape variety
Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is a red wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot Noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for pine and black. The word pine alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit.

Pinot Noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler climates, and the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. Pinot Noir is now used to make red wines around the world, as well as Champagne, and such sparkling white wines as the Italian Franciacorta, and English sparkling wines. Regions that have gained a reputation for red pinot Noir wines include: the Willamette Valley of Oregon, the Carneros, Central Coast, Sonoma Coast and Russian River AVAs of California, the Elgin and Walker Bay wine regions of South Africa, Mornington Peninsula, Adelaide Hills, Great Southern, Tasmania and Yarra Valley in Australia and the Central Otago, Martinborough and Marlborough wine regions of New Zealand. Pinot Noir is the most-planted varietal (38%) used in sparkling wine production in Champagne and other wine regions.

Pinot Noir is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine. The grape's tendency to produce tightly packed clusters makes it susceptible to several viticultural hazards involving rot that require diligent canopy management. The thin skins and low levels of phenolic compounds lends pinot to producing mostly lightly coloured, medium-bodied and low-tannin wines that can often go through phases of uneven and unpredictable aging. When young, wines made from Pinot Noir tend to have red fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries and strawberries. As the wine ages, pinot has the potential to develop more vegetal and "barnyard" aromas that can contribute to the complexity of the wine.

Alternative Names: Pinot Nero, Pinot Negro, Spätburgunder, Blauburgunder

About Corton

Corton is the grand cru appellation covering the slopes of the Montagne de Corton hill in the Côte de Beaune district of Burgundy. It is the largest grand cru vineyard in Burgundy, and is one of only two where wines are made from both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (the other is the Musigny vineyard). Corton's wines were a favourite of the Emperor Charlemagne, who lends his name to the white wines made on the western side of the hill.

The vineyard covers 145 hectares (360 acres) of land across the communes of Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses, which surround the hill. As in Chablis' grand cru vineyards, any mention of the Corton title on a label is almost always followed by the name of the specific climat where the wine originated. With the variation in terroir around the Corton hill, the differences between these climats are noticeable. The Perrières vineyard is known for its fine reds, Les Vergennes for its flinty whites and the reds of Clos du Roi for their balance of power and elegance.

The hill of Corton itself is a large outcrop of limestone, set slightly apart from the main Côte d'Or escarpment. It marks the northern end of the Côte de Beaune and the finish of the vineyard-strewn plain that flows north from Beaune. The top of the lozenge-shaped hill is covered in dense woodland, known as the Bois de Corton. Recently rumours have surfaced that the woodland was to be sold for the planting of further vineyards, alarming many producers who feel this could radically alter the mesoclimate on the hill.

Vines occupy the slopes of the hill for almost its entire circumference, although the grand cru rating covers only the southern half, sweeping majestically around from due east to due west. On the western side, the limestone soils are closer to the surface and this is reflected in the mostly white wines made from these vineyards. The eastern side is a touch warmer – being more exposed to the morning sunshine – and richer in the marlstone that is so well suited to Pinot Noir.

The classic Corton red wine is rich and relatively tannic, meaning that it is quite austere in its youth but develops well with age. Corton tasting notes often refer to flavours of violets, forest berries, leather and earthy notes. Corton-Charlemagne is considered to be one of the finest of Burgundy's white wines and is famous for its combination of fruit flavours (figs and baked pears) and mineral character (flint) – the latter being particularly prevalent in wines from the cooler western slopes. The wines from Corton are highly respected and can achieve high prices, although are not quite so prestigious as the wines from Montrachet or Romanée-Conti.

Corton was given its grand cru status in 1937, around the same time as most of Burgundy's other famous grand cru sites. However, Corton's reputation goes back much further – wines were first made here during Charlemagne's rule, which ended in AD814. Charlemagne is reputed to have ordered the first white grape plantings on the western side of the hill – the idea being that the wines would not unattractively stain his white beard.

Corton's vines were tended by the monasteries in the area from the Middle Ages, and much of the vineyard was confiscated during the French Revolution and sold. Today, the vineyard is owned by a number of famous producers including Louis Latour, the largest landholder, as well as Bonneau du Martray, Bouchard Père et Fils and the Hospices de Beaune.

Regular price $458.00

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