Wine Advisor
Bonneau du Martray, Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2011
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is also showing quite well, offering up aromas of citrus zest, pear and white flowers mingled with hints of green pineapple and pastry cream. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and charming, it's elegantly textural and open knit, with succulent acids and a saline finish. It's a creditable effort from Bonneau du Martray's ancien régime, even if it's surpassed by what's being made today.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Bonneau du Martray’s Corton-Charlemagne 2011 has a mineral-driven bouquet – linear and taut, with slate and granite aromas gradually unfurling in the glass. The palate is clean and fresh with supremely well-judged acidity. Touches of apricot and mango lie in the background with the citrus element playing the main role. Beautifully balanced, this is the Corton-Charlemagne of the flight with impressive tension and persistence.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is just starting to drink well. Fresh and mineral, the 2011 also looks to have plenty of life ahead of it. Chalk, lemon confit and white flowers all grace this open-knit, curvy Charlemagne. The 2011 has really softened in recent years. Time in the glass brings out the layers in this very pretty and expressive Charlemagne from Bonneau du Martray.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne from Bonneau du Martray remains reticent and not fully expressive, although it opens up nicely over time. Subtle veins of minerality support white orchard fruit and flowers in a layered, subtle Charlemagne.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne is subtle, understated and quite pretty. Hints of graphite, pears, white peaches and flowers emerge from a medium-bodied frame. Today, the 2011 appears to be built for near term drinking. There is plenty of energy and tension, but less in the way of mid-palate depth relative to recent vintages. This is the seventh vintage of biodynamic farming, which according to these principles, is supposed to be an inflection point. Needless to say, it will be interesting to follow the 2011 over the coming years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2011 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru was served blind at a dinner in Bordeaux. This has always been a fine vintage from the estate, although it has lost a little vigor since my last encounter. The nose is quite strict, offering scents of lemon verbena, red apples and a touch of orange pith, and not as flinty as I found in its youth. The palate is well balanced and delivers the weight one expects from a Corton-Charlemagne, though you could argue it does not quite deliver the complexity of the greatest vintages on the finish. Pretty, but maybe it just lacks a little personality. I think decanting for 2–3 hours would have benefited this wine. Tasted blind in Bordeaux.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(from vines harvested between September 6 and 12): Pale silver-straw color. Enticing, pure aromas of lemon, white plum, wild herbs and menthol, lifted by a hawthorn topnote. Pliant, silky and fat but also fresh and precise, with complex, concentrated flavors of lemon, grapefruit pith, spices and powdered stone. Lovely classic vintage with texture, balance and depth. Finishes very long, with subtle sweetness and noteworthy clarity. A repeating note of menthol calls for patience, though.
About the Producer
Located in Pernand-Vergelesses in the Cote de Beaune region of France, Domaine Bonneau du Martray has a thousand-year-old vineyard and is the only Burgundy winery to produce only Grand Cru wines. The vineyards of Château Matelay currently cover over 11 hectares, of which 9.5 hectares are planted for the production of Chardonnay from Corten-Charlemagne, while the remaining area of the vineyard with more fertile soils is devoted to Pinot Noir, a Corten wine of steadily improving quality. The average age of the vines in the vineyard is 45 years. The owner, Joan Charles, has also introduced asexual propagation in the vineyard to replace the tired vines. Château Martlet produces only two wines, a white wine from the Corten-Charriman vineyard and a red wine from the Corten-Charriman vineyard. The white Chardonnay from the Corten-Charriman vineyard is a rich, thick wine with intense ripe fruit flavours, the best of all Chardonnay whites. The Colten Charlemagne white Chardonnay from Château Matelay is the best of the best. Fortunately, despite the excellent quality of the white wines produced here, they are affordable and offer excellent value for money. These wines are the result of the gift of nature meeting the perseverance of generations.
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