Wine information
The Grand Cru site Clos du Roi is very close to the Corton Charlemagne. It lies high up on the hill, is steep and characterized by clay and limestone marl with a little sand in the topsoil. The grapes ripen slowly and late here, but the soil has very good drainage so there is no waterlogging even in the late stages of ripening. The property covers 0.38 hectares in this already small site, considered by many to be the best on the entire hill. Planted in 1961 and 1985, the Pinot noir was fermented spontaneously in the wood cuve with fairly high whole cluster percentages. The wine was then gravity fed into barriques and tonneaux with a small amount of new wood. Aging lasted about 14 months without further agitation. The wine was mostly filled directly from the barrel with minimal sulphur.
Color
intense garnet red
Nose
The 2018s Corton-Clos-du-Roi opens with a lavish and extremely complex perfume of sour cherries and red currants, blood oranges and beberries, joined by ripe plums, wild strawberry compote and sloes, dark chocolate, undergrowth and tobacco, lime and a forest floor covered in moss. All this seems - although still so young - coherent, complex, seductive and sensual.
Palate
This sensuality is also found on the palate in the interplay of fruit, spice and especially the polished fine tannin. The Corton-Clos-du-Roi combines the sun-drenched character of the year with the style of the house, which seems to dance and float at the same time, but is always grounded. The ripe acidity is gripping in this Pinot, which spreads out in waves on the palate with its aromas of cherries, plums, sloes and red oranges, accompanied by a little Ras el Hanout. The lushness of the vintage and the power of the terroir were on display here, held together by a corset of fine tannin that structures the wine and which, along with the brilliant acidity, will ensure a long life. It is a brilliant Corton-Clos-du-Roisimply a great wine.
Food recommendations by Christoph Raffelt
- Glazed saddle of lamb, artichoke and liquorice tagetes
- Onglet, roasted carrots, parmesan and capers
- Baked eggplant, plums and za'atar on papadam