2010 Corton Grand Cru

Sometimes I wish Bonneau de Martray made more wines, as my tastings with Jean-Charles le Bault de la Morinière are always much too brief. Readers will find wines of impeccable polish and class at this small domaine tucked in the hillsides of Pernand-Vergelesses. De la Morinière told me that he hoped to make the red Corton once again available to the estate's customers in the US, which is great news, although it hasn't happened yet. According to de la Morinière, 2009 was a year unlike any other he has seen for its consistent, uninterrupted good weather. The harvest started on September 9th. Yields came in at 39.4 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton-Charlemagne and 27.05 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton. The Corton-Charlemagne finished its malo in June 2010, while the Corton started its malo in May, 2010 and finished in August. Both of the 2009s were bottled in Spring 2011. By contrast, the 2010s were brought in beginning on September 23, after a year characterized by an irregular flowering that lowered yields and an equally variable summer with periods of rain and heat. Conditions improved markedly during the month of September. Yields of 30.50 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton-Charlemagne and 22 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton were the lowest ever recorded at the domaine with the exception of 2003.