2007 Corton Charlemagne

(from three sources, each with a different exposition) Pale, bright yellow. Cool citrus peel, powdered stone and menthol on the nose. Suave and smooth on entry, then quite firm in the middle, with penetrating stony minerality and firm acid cut leavening the wine's richness. The new oak element and saline minerality give the finish a youthfully chewy quality. But this is still an infant and needs a minimum of five or six years of cellaring. (As at Morey's domain cellar in Meursault, the 2008s here had only recently begun their malolactic fermentations following a long, cold winter.)

Chalky and fusil, as well as tight, tart, almost oxalic both on the nose and in its initial palate impact, the Morey-Blanc 2007 Corton Charlemagne (from three tiny parcels) shows a rather overt woodiness in part precisely by contrast with the relative austerity of its fruit and mineral personality. (The share of new barrel is just under half.) “This wine automatically has a difficult period soon after bottling,” says Morey, implying that I am still tasting within that period. It’s hard to fault this on sheer concentration, certainly, and I can well imagine this wine – which Morey clearly considers one of his better efforts with this appellation – being worth following for a decade. ||Pierre Morey bottled the 2007s under his negociant label Morey-Blanc in early Spring, a bit ahead of his estate wines in the expectation that the former will open-up sooner for early enjoyment. I did not taste all of Morey’s offerings under this label, and some of the less expensive bottlings that I did taste were slightly inharmonious. eRobertParker.com.December, 2009