2014 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

As the 2014 malos finished very early, most of the 2014s at Chandon de Briailles had been bottled a week or two before my December visit. The estate harvested its Pinot Noir on the late side (the latest in the village of Savigny-lès-Beaune, according to Claude de Nicolay, who shares responsibility for vinification with her brother François), from September 20 through 30, with yields mostly down dramatically owing to the late-June hailstorm. The village parcels were at roughly 12% potential alcohol and were chaptalized by about 0. 8 degree, said Claude de Nicolay, but the grand crus were picked at 13%. There was some coulure and mildew in the vines and the estate sprayed with low-fat milk and nettles rather than using sulfur solutions. Routinely on the high side, pHs here were around 3. 8 on 2014, with the Corton des Maréchaudes reaching 3. 9.

De Nicolay told me that she's been comparing the young 2014s to the estate's 2000s."The earlier vintage had similar acidity and upfront fruit and we've been surprised by its longevity," she explained, adding that yields were lower in 2014 and that these wines are more tannic. Incidentally, this estate bottles its wines with extremely low levels of SO2: about 15 ppm of free sulfur and 40 of total sulfur, according to de Nicolay.

I was even more impressed by the 2014 whites than by the reds and have thus included notes on the estate’s top cuvées.