2016 Le Corton

Confected, candied red fruit on the nose, with rich spices too. Tight tannin, long fruit concentration on the finish. Should unfurl in due course and develop secondary flavours from that intense core fruit. (RH)

(these high-altitude vines produced a normal crop in 2016): Moderately saturated dark red. Sexy if slightly reduced aromas of black raspberry, tarte au prune and game, with some new oak showing. Very rich, dense and pliant, conveying a distinctly relaxed quality for the vintage. This plump, large-scaled grand cru finishes with superb restrained sweetness, noteworthy finesse of tannins, and serious building length, with its lightly saline black raspberry fruit complemented by an almost chocolatey ripeness. An extremely promising vintage for this wine.

The 2016 Corton Grand Cru comes from red clay soils that are just 80 centimeters deep before you hit the limestone bedrock. It has a finely tuned bouquet with cranberry, raspberry preserve and crushed strawberry scents, crushed roses developing with time. The palate is well balanced with a fine line of acidity, brisk and tensile from start to finish and then pulling back so as not to overdo the finish. This is a case of less is more in a wine and it is likely to surpass the 2015 Corton.