DOMAINE D’ARDHUY

WHITE WINES – GRAND CRUS

CORTON-CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU AOC / See here for more on this Grand Cru site. | 2018 In 2018 the estate’s online fact sheet said this was from Chardonnay (massale, 40 year average age) in the Le Rognet et Corton plot(s) totalling 30 ouvrées or 1.30 hectares (3.21 acres). Steep slope facing south-east. 300 metres (984 feet). Rootstock 161-49 Couderc. Clay-limestone soil from the Calloveian era known as ‘pearly flagstone’ (« dalle nacrée »). Average production around 35hl (4,660 bottles). Low vigour vines, early ripening site, small berries. / 2011 13.5%. Rich fruit and smooth oak with notably salty inner freshness, very good at Nick Nicholas’s, Combe Down on Saturday 28 July 2018.

RED WINES – GRAND CRUS

CLOS DE VOUGEOUT GRAND CRU AOC: See here for more on this Grand Cru site. From 0.55 hectares (1.37 acres or 13 ouvrées) in Le Petit Maupertuis, in the the upper (more notable) part of the Clos de Vougeot. Gentle slope facing east to the rising sun. Clay-limestone topsoil, quite pebbly, over a limestone sub-soil (compact Bathonian limestone). Around 2,700 bottles

CORTON ROUGE GRAND CRU AOC, POUGETS / See here for more on this Grand Cru site. / 100% Pinot Noir, massal selection. 0.17 hectares (4 ouvrées or 0.42 acres) planted mid-1970s. Mid-slope. 275-285 metres (902-935 feet). Gentle slope, south-facing. The soil is clay-limestone, composed of fine limestone and flint concretions (‘calcaires fins à chailles’) of the Jurassic period. Well-drained, richer in clay, but less fertile than adjacent lower lying parcels, the grapes produced by these vines are generally rich in phenolics.

CORTON ROUGE GRAND CRU AOC, RENARDES / See here for more on this Grand Cru site. / From X hectares (38 ouvrées of X acres) of Pinot Noir. 100% Pinot Noir, massal selection. Average vine age of 40 years. South-east facing. The slope varies but is generally quite steep. The soil is brown limestone over a Bathonian (limestone) base.

TO DO CORTON ROUGE GRAND CRU AOC, HAUTES MOUROTTES / See here for more on this Grand Cru site. / From 0.64 hectares (1.59 acres or 15 ouvrées) of Pinot Noir. This parcel is the highest grand cru vineyard on the Corton hill, lying at about 360 meters (feet). With a full easterly exposure, the microclimate is relatively cool with a wide temperature range. The soil is brown limestone over subsoil of the upper Bathonian stage (‘ Bathonien terminal’). Very rapidly draining, thin and warm, this soil puts great stress on the vines during the growth and maturity of the grapes. This, in combination with a generally cool and unpredictable microclimate, results in a firm and austere wine, said to be the most ‘masculine’ of the Cortons,

CORTON ROUGE GRAND CRU AOC, CLOS DU ROI / See here for more on this Grand Cru site. / From 1.06 hectares (2.62 acres or 22 ouvrées) of Pinot Noir. Situated on the highest part of the hill, between 300 and 320 meters altitude (984-1050feet). Clos du Roi is on a steep southeast-facing slope. The soil is brown limestone on a subsoil of Late Bathonian. Very well-drained, dry, pebbly and warm, this soil presents difficult growing conditions, and therefore stresses the vines during growth and maturation of the grapes. The parcel consists of two halves planted 20 years apart, the oldest in the mid-1970s.