Corton “Clos du Roi” Grand Cru Reviews

Healthy medium red. Subtle aromas of redcurrant, spices and earth, plus a hint of smoke. A supple, sweet, attractive midweight without any edges. Intense red fruits and dusty brown spices carry very well through the fine-grained finish. Suavely tannic for Corton, this wine should have very good staying power in the bottle. -- Stephen Tanzer

A discreet application of wood easily allows the fresh, earthy, herbal tea and sauvage-scented nose of red and dark pinot fruit. As one would expect the big-bodied flavors are markedly bigger and more powerful with excellent mid-palate concentration on the beautifully long and mouth coating finish. This is not particularly complex at present but there is so much development potential in evidence that much more should develop with time in bottle.

The 2014 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru has a rather conservative, straightlaced bouquet, subtle tertiary notes keeping a tab on the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a pleasant juiciness on the entry. There is still a bit of oak to be absorbed but there is fine matière on the finish that lingers nicely in the mouth. It is a wine that needs to shake of its infant shackles, spread its wings a bit.

An adroit application of wood frames a strikingly broad ranging nose that features notes of violet, lilac, game, earth, smoke, spice, red currant, cassis and blue berry. The rich, intense and tautly muscular broad-scaled flavors display focused power and plenty of punch though there is less rusticity than is typical thanks to the relatively fine grain of the supporting tannins on the driving finish. This is excellent though note that it will require longer-term cellaring.

A spicy and distinctly earthy nose of ripe and very floral wild red berries also displays the pungent sauvage notes of a classic Clos du Roi. There is excellent mid-palate concentration to the palate staining broad-shouldered flavors that possess plenty of muscle and punch on the complex and terrifically long finish. This is a very serious effort that will require all of 15 years to come around and perhaps even a few more before all of the structure is fully resolved.

The 2009 Corton Le Clos du Roi (from 65-year-old vines) is elegant and subtle wine. Generous fruit radiates from the warm, open center. This is a totally classy wine that caresses the palate with silky tannins and impeccable grace. Here Vincent used a lower percentage of whole clusters (20%) than in a number of other wines, and employed 60% new oak barrels. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2029. Biodynamic farming and non-interventionalist winemaking are at the heart of the approach at Domaine de la Vougeraie. The 2009s saw roughly a 25 days of maceration (including a week of cold soak) with one punch down a day. Once in barrel racking was kept to a bare minimum. A number of wines were bottled in late 2010 and early 2011. I tasted these wines with winemaker Pierre Vincent in March 2011.

Subtle spice, earth and the classic game notes add a layering effect to the very fresh and ripe red currant and cassis aromas that give way to a textured, intense and overtly muscular big-bodied flavors that are firm, powerful and palate-staining on the hugely long finish. This is an imposing but not ponderous effort that should require 12 to 15 years to arrive at its peak. 2021+