Wine Advisor
Chandon de Briailles, Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2018 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru was showing brilliantly, revealing lovely aromas of wild plums, dark chocolate and orange rind, followed by a full-bodied and exquisitely refined palate, its supple attack segueing into a ripe and concentrated core of fruit framed by satiny tannins and lively acids. While this is marked by the sun-kissed character of the vintage it's finer-boned and more energetic than the lavish Bressandes that preceded it.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2018 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru is showing beautifully, offering up aromas of wild berries, orange rind, oriental spices, peonies and sweet soil tones. Full-bodied, layered and perfumed, it's velvety and mineral, with a multidimensional core, fine tannins and a long, lively finish.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Corton Clos-du-Roi Grand Cru was the standout when I assessed the 2018s out of barrel; now, in bottle, I have no reason to alter that view. Displaying spellbinding delineation and clarity on the nose, this articulates the terroir extremely well, offering precise red fruit mixed with crushed rock/flinty aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, unerring purity and a silky texture that lingers long in the mouth. Feel that salinity tingling on the tongue after the wine has departed. Pure, unadulterated Pinoté!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Corton Clos-du-Roi Grand Cru comes from the upper contours of the slope. The wonderful bouquet of ebullient red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit is laced with truffle and undergrowth. This is the most sensual of Chandon des Briailles’s Cortons. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins, a superb line of acidity, a cashmere texture and multilayered red berry fruit mixed with Moroccan spices and white pepper on the long finish. Brilliant.
About the Producer
In the ownership of the same family since 1834, the Domaine Chandon de Brailles currently belongs to the Count and Countess Aymard-Claude de Nicolay and their children. The Count inherited it from his grandmother, Countess Chandon de Briailles. François de Nicolay succeeded his mother, with his sister Claude in 2001. He very quickly realized the level of quality of the wines achieved thanks to this method and decided to convert the family domaine. Biodynamics for the domaine is also a growing method that preserves our terrestrial universe and it is durable. Through this method, the domaine passes on to future generations parcels of land that are unpolluted and alive, capable of producing wines of great quality. That is to say: with charm, finesse and great aromatic complexity. The domaine is 13.7 hectares: one-third Savigny, Pernand and Corton. The grapes are partially de-stemmed with the proportion of whole cluster varying from 30 to 50% depending on the vintage. The wines stay on the lees for 12 to 15 months and then it is pushed with inert gas into big tanks for blending where it stays one or two months before bottling
