2016 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

I tasted the wines in this article during my visit to Bonneau du Martray last summer while the Musique et Vin festival was running, a time that today feels like it belongs to another era entirely. Winemaker Emmanuel Hautus showed me a wide range of vintages, all of which were impressive. I had tasted some of these recently, so I can't say I was entirely surprised. Hautus grouped the Corton-Charlemagnes into three flights: 1) vintages of energy (2005, 2014, 2017), 2) weak vintages (1993, 1994, 2011) and 3) recent vintages (2015, 2016) and the very rare red Corton into two flights: 1) older vintages (1991, 1999, 2003) and 2) newer releases (2015, 2017). Although they had been bottled only a few months before this tasting, the 2017s, the first vintage made under new owner Stan Kroenke, point to a very bright future.

This prestigious estate, which makes only a single Corton grand cru red and a Corton-Charlemagne from its prime 11 hectares of vines on the Corton hill, was purchased by American billionaire Stan Kroenke (owner of Screaming Eagle and the Arsenal football club) at the end of 2016, following two centuries of ownership by the family of Jean-Charles Le Bault de la Morinière, who had worked with his father Jean at the estate since 1969 and took over winemaking duties in 1994. He oversaw the conversion of the estate to organic viticulture (Bonneau du Martray is certified by EcoCert) in the early 2000s. Cellarmaster Emmanuel Hautus, who has been here since 2011, assured me that the wines are made today by the same team and according to the same organic principles.