The 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is stellar. I remember this vintage quite well, as I visited the domaine during one of the two brutal heat spikes that punctuated the summer. What a pleasant surprise it is to find the 2019 in this tasting. A superb Burgundy, the 2019 offers a brilliant counterpoint of textural richness and minerality. It’s a heady, oily wine, but not overdone. Tropical fruit, exotic white flowers, slate and a kiss of French oak build as the 2019 shows off its racy personality.

The 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru has turned out brilliantly in bottle, exhibiting a harmony and precision that stands out in this vintage. Offering up aromas of sweet orchard fruits, citrus pith, nutmeg, spices, honey and oatmeal, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with excellent concentration, chalky structuring extract and a long, vibrant finish. This is a very classy, beautifully balanced wine that is built to age with grace.

From the 2021 vintage, the appellation for this wine will change to Charlemagne. Plenty of apple fruit and matchstick sulphidic reduction, as well as an oxidised edge on the finish that makes it seem a little frayed and worn. The intensity and complexity are of grand cru status, but this particular bottle is perhaps not the freshest. (RH)