2021 Corton Grand Cru

“We were not as badly affected by frost as in 2016,” Nathalie Tollot tells me as we descend in her ever so slowly elevator down to the barrel cellar. “Then we lost 75% of the crop. Whereas in 2021, it was ‘just’ 55%. Our two Beaune Premier Crus completely escaped the frost, and to be honest, we don’t know why. We blended the two Cortons Grand Crus together this year for the first time ever. We didn’t use candles in the vineyard. We try to prune later and bind the baguette a little later, but with 25-hectares, it is difficult to do in every parcel. The summer was quite rainy, but we’ve seen that before. Our Pinot Noir is a good clonal selection that can resist humidity. We cut the entre-coeur (excess branches with no fruit) in order to enhance aeration and use less spray. The harvest began on 16 September. There was rain on 19 September, so we had to stop and restart, so it was a bit longer than normal, 11 or 12 days. We lacked 15 people during picking. The fermentation was easy compared to recent vintages without the high levels of alcohol, around 12.5% average and a maximum of 13.0% to extend fermentation and extract more from the skins.” These wines are a bit of a hit and miss to be honest, though the hits are certainly worth seeking, particularly the pair of excellent Beaune Premier Crus that escaped frost damage. In two words, they are bright and vivacious.