2013 Corton Le Rognet Grand Cru

After substantial rainfall on September 29 in Vosne-Romanée, Bruno Clavelier began harvesting the next day and finished in six days flat, carrying out a selection in the vines and again on his sorting table. The humid September weather was hardly constructive for the fruit, noted Clavelier, but his domain benefits from a high percentage of very old vines. His tiny, thick-skinned, well-aerated berries resisted rot very well, even to the pont that Clavelier vinified some of his fruit from millerandé wines with a percentage of whole clusters. The pHs in 2013 are in the relatively low range of 3.35 to 3.4, with some as low as 3.3, and Clavelier has been able to raise his wines with minimal sulfur additions. Following minimal chaptalization, the premier crus will go into bottle with alcohol levels in the modest 12.5% to 12.7% range. I was particularly impressed by the freshness and inner-mouth tension of these wines, even if Clavelier considers his 2012s to be denser.