2017 Maison Joseph Drouhin Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

The 2017 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is excellent, unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet citrus oil, beeswax, white flowers and oyster shell. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, layered and satiny on the attack, with considerable concentration and structuring dry extract, succulent underlying acids and a long, chalky finish. From the south-facing climat Les Languettes, this is one of the highlights of Drouhin's 2017 portfolio.

Very attractive wet stones and a wealth of hazelnuts and ripe, fresh and expressive lemons and white peaches. The palate has beautifully complete, fleshy texture, really seamless and underpinned by stony, powerful terroir-driven structure. Exceptional Corton-Charlemagne here. Drink or hold.

The 2017 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru comes from the climat of Les Languettes and was picked on September 2. It has a rather mild, perhaps conservative bouquet that does not quite deliver the complexity I might have expected from a Grand Cru. The palate is better, featuring a taut, quite stony opening, a little salinity in the mouth and touches of black currant leaf and walnut toward the finish. Maybe it will offer more once bottled. [I notice that Stephen Tanzer finished his own tasting note wondering whether he underrated it. Without previously seeing his note, it would seem that I, too, expected a little more.]