Corton-Les Renardes
Grand Cru 2020
Located just to the north of Beaune, the Corton hill is a Mecca for all wine lovers.
Halfway up its slope, Pinot Noir thrives in limestone based soil.
Origin
Composed of 25 different climats, the Grand Cru Corton is an emblematic figure of Burgundy. It extends over three villages: Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses. Each climate has its own personality.
"Les Renardes" is located on the village of Aloxe-Corton, on a gently sloping plot. The vines are aged on average 45.
"The Foxes" takes its name from the word Fox. This animal, lover of small game, is very present in Burgundy. The other hypothesis is that the parcel belonged to a family called Renard, a very common family name.
Viticulture
Grape variety: pinot noir
Soils: brown, stony clay-limestone.
Orientation: East
Surface area under vine: 0.3198 ha
Pruning: Guyot system
Yield: 31 hL/ha
Average age of the vines: 40 years old.
Vinification
Harvest date: 21 & 24 August 2020.
The grapes were handpicked.
They were sorted a first time in the vineyard and again on the sorting table when they arrived at the winery.
At the winery: the grapes were 50% destemmed but not crushed (they were left whole) and were gravity-fed into tanks. Maceration with 50% whole bunches of 21 days including 5 days cold (12 ° C): Fermentation used indigenous yeasts only (no additives such as enzymes or tannins were used). Vinification without sulfur. 3 punchings of the cap.
Ageing
Maturation: aged on the lees for 15 months with no racking using a proportion of 25% new French oak barrels.
Barrels: French oak barrels that had been toasted at low temperatures for a long time for very delicate oaking.
Bottling
Bottling in December 2021, the wine was very gently filtered before being bottled using gravity.
Number of bottles: 898 bottles & 200 magnums.
Vintage
Balanced and concentrated
The harvests happened back-to-front! They began with the reds ripening before the whites. The harvest was very disease-free but we had to eliminate sunburnt berries, especially in the case of the Pinot Noir vines as the Chardonnays had coped better with the heat. Quality was definitely good, but relatively low juice yields has resulted in Pinot Noirs with high colour and aromatic intensity. On the other hand, the Chardonnay vines produced adequate yields with a good balance of sugar and acidity. This optimal ripeness enabled us to harvest the red grapes in certain plots according to the ‘vendange entière’ approach, where stalks are fermented along with the grapes.
'Lots of lovely colour in the reds, with very high polyphenol content, firm tannins and excellent levels of acidity. Looks set to be a year with great cellaring potential. Summer fruit coulis notes definitely have the upper hand in this year’s vintage! The whites are nicely-balanced, but it’s too early to be more precise. Watch this space…’ Grégory Patriat.
Ageing potential: From 5 to 10 years.
Awards
Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France 2023 - 97/100
JamesSuckling.com - 96 points
Le Nouveau Bettane + Desseauve 2023 - 92/100
Tasting notes
With a beautiful ruby color, this wine exhales aromas of fresh crunchy red fruits, wild flowers and black peppers. On the palate, it offers a beautiful silkiness and elegance, thanks to its fine tannins. A "salivating" wine.
