(production was half of normal in 2016; aged in 30% new oak and bottled at the beginning of April of this year): Pale yellow-green. High-pitched aromas of citrus peel, menthol, lavender and white pepper. Extremely tight without coming across as austere, conveying striking purity to its bracing flavors of grapefruit pith, lemon and crushed stone. Adamant minerality gives this very dense wine terrific inner-mouth tension and yet there's an element of leavening sweetness here as well, not to mention compelling floral perfume throughout. This wonderfully smooth, rich yet weightless wine really dances on the palate, spreading out on the unflagging back end to saturate every square millimeter of the mouth. Cellarmaster Emmanuel Hautus compared this wine to the 2009 in its combination of richness, early appeal and potential longevity.

The 2016 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is showing superbly from bottle, unwinding in the glass with a classy bouquet of crisp green apple, pears, almond paste, fresh pastry and Meyer lemon. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, concentrated and precise, with serious depth, tangy acidity, and chewy structuring dry extract while remaining elegantly textural. Intense and complete, it's an immensely promising wine which augers well for Bonneau du Martray's future.

The 2016 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is the product of a tiny harvest in which a significant portion of the vintage was damaged by frost. The berries that ultimately made it into the tanks (all first generation) had very thick skins. In tasting, the 2016 is quite concentrated and also very exotic, with strong tropical inflections. Even so, there is an element of translucence to the 2016 that is beguiling. It will be interesting to see how it ages.