2015 Domaine de la Vougeraie Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru

The 2015 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru has a rather jammy, brettanomyces-tinged bouquet that feels rather generic. The palate is medium-bodied, offering soft, smudged red berry fruit with good acidity. But there is an overriding sense of flatness to this Corton, a lack of energy that leaves you indifferent to taking the next sip. This is well below my estimation out of barrel. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.

(these 75-year-old vines resisted the drought well and yielded the same crop level--27 hectoliters per hectare--as in 2014, according to Pierre Vincent): 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.

The 2015 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru, from 75-year-old vines, exhibited broody dark berry, tertiary, even tobacco notes on the nose, though it seemed to gradually open up and reveal more red fruit character in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit, a fine line of acidity and very good depth. Maybe more mineralité could have been shown towards the finish, nevertheless this remains a suave Corton Clos du Roi that has the density to repay several years in bottle. I expect it will reside at the top of my banded score.