2016 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru Henri Boillot

(100% from Aloxe fruit in Le Charlemagne). A distinctly smoky nose combines notes of mineral- reduction with those of green apples, lavender and spice. The super- intense and well-muscled flavors seem to be built on a firm base of minerality before culminating in an explosively long finish. Note well that like the Montrachet, this presently taciturn effort is very clearly built-to-age and is going to require a minimum of 7 to 8 years of cellaring first and reward far longer. 96/2031+ .

Fyldig i frugten. Mineralsk i udtrykket med fersken, let tropisk frugt, hvid peber og vanilje i smagen. Masser af lag og dybde. Flot lang afslutning. 94 .

Pale lemon. Excellent weight of fruit on the nose which shows significant promise. White stone fruit and a few plums at the edges. With a very refreshing gunflint reductive minerality. This is very Corton-Charlemagne. Tasted: May 2019.

(75% new oak; 4.4 grams per liter acidity; from vines in Aloxe, which Boillot picked last in 2016 before starting on Pinot Noir): Bright light-medium yellow. Subtly complex, musky aromas of peach, caraway seed, nutmeg, mace and hazelnutty lees. At once densely packed and penetrating, with a stony citric pungency giving precision to the seamless middle palate and cutting through the wine's texture. Wonderfully pure and energetic for this cuvée, finishing tactile and unflagging, with terrific citrus lift. This has the palate- staining length and structure for a slow and graceful evolution in bottle; it's also the only 2016 here that struck me as tannic, but then classic Corton-Charlemagne typically shows structure more like a red wine.