2012 Corton Charlemagne

Pure aromas of lime, linden blossom, crushed stone and spearmint. Plush and fine-grained but also quite penetrating, offering lovely lift to the concentrated lemon, lime and stone flavors. Very young but already quite suave, this round, rich wine finishes very long, with a youthful metallic minerality. Boillot told me that this was his only chardonnay parcel untouched by hail in 2012--and the only one affected by hail in 2013.

A wine of focus and clarity, the 2012 Corton-Charlemagne is a fitting finale to this overview of 2012 whites. The flavors are bright and chiseled in this dazzling, energetic Corton, but also given an extra kick of volume by the intensity of the vintage. All the elements fall into place beautifully here. The 2012 is intense, yet retains all of its signatures. Henri Boillot, with his characteristic dry wit, adds there was no hail in this parcel in 2012, but no juice either.

(no hail here, says Boillot): Bright yellow. Reticent but pure aromas of peach flesh, nutmeg and musky crushed stone. Distinctly airy and taut following the Montrachet sample, showing outstanding energy and crushed-stone minerality to the salty lemon and white peach flavors. Wonderfully dry, classic Corton-Charlemagne with outstanding clarity and lift on the rising finish. Boasts a rare combination of richness and inner-mouth tension. Like Boillot's other top 2012s, this will need a good seven or eight years of cellaring and should be long-lived.