Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru

Chandon de Briailles
France
Burgundy
2018

Clos du Roi, one of the most famous vineyards of Corton, is just below the Le Corton lieu-dit of Corton Charlemagne,  a terroir high on the hillside, very steep and made up of clay-limestone marls containing a little sand and little topsoil. Claude describes it as a chance to taste Charlemagne as a red. The vines struggle here in the rugged soil. It is a late-ripening terroir which, through its ability to drain, allows the grapes to avoid rot during the last phase of ripening. Chandon de Briailles owns .38 hectares, planted in 1961 and 1985 at an elevation of three hundred meters and east-facing. Tasted a year ago from barrel, the 2018 was showing surprisingly open, with incredible aromatics, and a lot of power on the palate. Cherry and plum fruit are present, but the character of the wine always leans savory in its youth, with intense herbal and salty notes. Clos du Roi reveals something new each additional year it's kept in the cellar.

94-96 points
"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."
Neal Martin,
Vinous
January 2020
(93-95) points
"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."
William Kelley,
Wine Advocate
February 2020
9291-94 points
"Notably ripe yet still fresh and pretty aromas speak of liqueur-like dark berry fruit, earth, game and a floral top note, all of which is trimmed in touches of wood toast and menthol. I very much like the underlying sense of tension present on the more refined but still sizeable big-bodied flavors that are somewhat less muscular while still offering plenty of power and punch on the firm, serious and impressively long finish."
Allen Meadows,
Burghound
April 2020
95 points
"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."
William Kelley,
Wine Advocate
January 2021
94 points
"Fragrant with wild strawberry, rose, cedar, sandalwood and sage aromas, this red is elegant and firmly structured. It's pure and focused, with a lingering aftertaste of flowers and balsamic elements. Best from 2024 through 2043. —B.S."
Bruce Sanderson,
Wine Spectator
Feb 24, 2021

SKU/Code: 
DB6627-18
Product Line: 
California Portfolio
National Portfolio
Wine
Red
Varietal: 
Pinot Noir
Farming Type: 
Biodynamic