Bonneau du Martray: 4 decades of Corton-Charlemagne

This event is one of the wine masterclass presentations in the annual World Gourmet Summit event in Singapore. The tasting session was presided over by Dr. N. K. Yong and the proprietor/winemaker of Domaine Bonneau du Martray, Jean-Charles le Bault de la Moriniere.

As many of us have known, this domaine along with Domaine de la Romanee-Conti are the two burgundy houses who produce solely grand crus (okay, so you may contradict this by virtue of the occasional release of Vosne-Romanee premier cru cuvee Duvault Blochet by DRC...) One of the many things said about the domaine's Corton-Charlemagne vineyard as Jean-Charles moderated and commented throughout the tasting is that peculiarly, the vines here are west-facing, something that none of the other Corton Charlie vineyards do, nor other vineyards in Burgundy for that matter. Jean-Charles' first vintage was the 1994 vintage.

It is heartening to see that there's an event like this that showcase a study of Corton-Charlemagne from a particular domaine. I won't pretend to know if the intent of the organizers was to showcase the Domaine or to provide a mini exposition of the wines of Corton-Charlemagne. I suspect the former. Nonetheless, I must maintain that Corton-Charlemagne is probably the most difficult white burgundy grand cru to appreciate, let alone understand.

I must admit to a certain partiality toward the wines of Corton-Charlemagne. I admire its qualities, because these are wines that could successfully marry linear minerally delicate flavours and punchy forceful strength of a grand cru. It almost always exerts the impression of intensity and concentration yet the wine is almost always lean and restrained, giving a misleading impression of austerity.

The biggest wisdom I brought with me to this tasting was this: give the wine time. In fact the 1.5 hrs tasting was hardly enough for the wines to develop to a point of equilibrium at its current stages of developments given its respective vintages. But as my experience has confirmed even through this tasting, the wines DO change with air. And the study of these changes are crucial to the understanding of the wines. I held all my glasses throughout the tasting and I was always intrigued by my second and third (re)visits.

The tasting order was from the youngest to the oldest vintages. And purportedly the bottles were opened 2-3 hours beforehand. They were not decanted.

2003 - Initially a fairly bright nose with ripe pears, figs and lemon. With air some lemon custards emerged on the nose. While the nose showed some elegance and reservedness (in the context of the vintage, that is), the palate was more reflective of the vintage. While it's not warm nor overripe, due to the lack of malic acidity, the flavours were soft, simple and short. There was some stony grip but overall still rather accessible and soft. With extended aeration, banana skins and tropical fruit elements began to make its way to the nose, confirming the vintage characteristics.

2002 - One whiff and I knew this had to be a great wine. Right from the beginning, much higher pitch than the 2003 with a classy oak scent and an invigorating freshness of fruits absent in the 2003. Pure ripe lime extract in the mouth with substantial sap and minerality. True Corton-Charlemagne hallmarks of stoniness and lean yet forceful fruits were in full display here. Juicy and mouthwatering. The untamed and healthy dose of acid, particularly a trace of malic acidity, created the latter effect. The wine was unchanging to the very end of the tasting, combining elegance, unusual expressiveness, (stony) fruit purity and lovely sugar/acid balance. Delicious and irresistible.

1996 - This came across pretty much like a more evolved 2002 with more austerity, forcefulness, size and density, yet less exuberance in its fruits. In the mouth this was lemony and more fleshy. Reticent at first yet the minerality was completely unabashed. With air, it turned more expressive and incisive, almost savage -- intense yet continued to maintain a sense of class and elegance. An honest-to-goodness terroir-driven Corton Charlemagne.

1994 - This, by far, was the most different wine of the tasting. A gunflint infected and toast infused nose reminded me of a Meursault more than a Corton. There was some meatiness and woodiness to it. I really wondered if the wood handling of this wine was any different from the others. Less bright but richer in texture. Quite a crowd pleaser I would expect and like my initial suggestion of likeness to Meursault, the fruits turned more pineappley later on while the texture turned grippier and leaner. I suspect most attendants (except those who held this out till the end of the tasting) might have missed the character change in this wine in the end but would have nonetheless enjoyed the upfront generosity of its earlier display.

1992 - A highly rated (yet recently controversial) vintage. This was done by Jean-Charles' dad. The stylistic change was evident. There was an immediate impression of more rusticity and squareness in this wine. There were meatiness, and a marked earthiness to this wine. In the palate however this was rounder than the nose would have suggested, in fact rather plump and textured with a lovely combination of lime and pear fruits. Again, like the 1994, this became firmer later on. And in spite of the generous and fatty texture, this wine exhibits the clear minerality Corton Charlies are so famous for.

1987 - Warm bread, smoke, and exotic suggestions of sweet tea and stewed fruits in the nose. Probably bortrytized. Equally exotic in the palate which mirrored the nose except that this had a shrill, agressive and disjointed acidic finish. I am fairly certain this was acidified and the wine, in spite of the initial superficial charm of an old white burgundy, was ultimately not balanced.

1985 - This was supposed to be a 100-point Parker wine and I didn't know that. I searched the website to confirm the rating but could not find it... Nonetheless, right about now, the colour of the wine had now become golden as opposed to light straw hue of all the previous ones (quite consistently so, I must add). A meaty stink behind oily minerals and custard infused nose. In the palate this was very round and viscous, with some maderized suggestion in the inner mouth perfume. I wasn't sure if I liked it initially but I gave this second and third chances and retasted it constantly till the end of the tasting. Again, interestingly this also turned firmer, but displayed not much minerality at this stage and I doubt this would be worth keeping around for long hoping that it would improve. Evolved but not over the hill (yet).

1976 - Many thought this was probably the wine of the tasting. The nose opened with a classic old white burg aromas which somehow magically married lemon skins, honey and the earthy notes of which had turned into exotic truffley nuances. Metallic nose hints at the transformed generous minerality of the wine and once you put this in the mouth, this wine rapidly converged and gunned down the midpalate with plenty of supporting acidity to further highlight the very lively fruits. In fact the fruits here were more alive than the preceding 1985, 1987, 1992 and 1994! Stony, limey, sweet, sappy, mouthwateringly crunchy yet silky in texture, it seemed that this wine had come to a standstill and is now proudly standing at its peak. Over time, the mineral elements also took on a petroleum and exquisite floral character. A very special treat and a living proof why great white burgundies are one of the greatest wines on earth.