2005 Corton Charlemagne

Very particular year with lots of water pressure – drier than 2003 in fact. Very healthy grapes but if anything a shortage of juice and the wine is very slightly astringent still. Raphael talks of tannin in whites in this vintage. Very rich, exotic nose – really dramatic. Very sweet – almost crème pâtissière. Certainly not juicy and the wine has lots of chew and substance and, apparently, alcohol. You want to wait a while for this. Smells almost chalky and with definitely chewiness. Solid and dense, full and very, very solid. A bit of a sergeant-major of a wine. Firm with a very particular character.

Is the 2005 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru the greatest white Burgundy ever to grace this Earth? Certainly it lies at the pinnacle of anything I have encountered and let’s be brutally honest, it lays to waste almost every other Corton-Charlemagne that I have ever tasted. This was the fourth time that I have drunk this behemoth and it has always flirted with perfection. Now I am convinced. It is blessed with a breathtaking bouquet, so penetrating, with razor-sharp precision, shucked oyster shell, hints of yellow flower, wet limestone and sea cave. The palate has a sense of balletic balance, a killer line of acidity, a Corton-Charlemagne brimming with energy. It is intense but not powerful per se, fanning out gloriously towards the mineral-rich finish with veins of Clementine and Japanese yuzu, but the key being that mineral tension. Astonishing. Legendary. Tasted at Taillevent restaurant in Paris.

The 2005 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru was difficult to evaluate and appears to be entering a transitional state between youth and maturity. On the nose, appealing aromas of preserved citrus, chamomile and toasted sesame mingle with notes of brioche, nutmeg and struck match. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and concentrated, with chewy extract and considerable depth, but it is seemingly missing some of the energy and tension that I have previously found in this domaine's 2005s. While aging contemporary white Burgundy is admittedly the preserve of optimists, I'd be inclined to forget this for a few years and hope that its glories reemerge, because when this Corton-Charlemagne is showing all its cards, it's close to perfection.