Corton-Charlemagne
Corton-Charlemagne is a
French Wine appellation. The area is located in the commune of
Aloxe-Corton in the
Côte de Beaune wine region. The wines produced in this area have been recognized for generations as amongst the most expensive of their type. The area has the distinction of having been amongst
Charlemagnes' personal land holdings, so prized was its
terroir, even in that day.
The appellation of Corton-Charlemagne is located on the higher ground of a hilltop that stretches between the
Burgundian villages of
Ladoix-Serrigny and
Pernand-Vergelesses. The slopes planted with the most valuable vinyards are south-east facing on the hilltop, and the land gradually slopes down towards the major French highway
Route 74. The majority of
grapes grown in this area for white wine production are
Chardonnay, but a small amount of
pinot blanc is also planted.
Corton-Charlemagne ages well and can command very high prices, partcularly for properly aged and stored examples.
The 1970 vintage was selected by
Robert Lawrence Balzer for competition in the
New York Wine Tasting of 1973, who assembled 14 leading wine experts including France's
Alexis Lichine. They evaluated 23 Chardonnays from California, New York, and France in a
blind tasting wine competition before an assemblage of 250 members of the New York Food and Wine Society.
The group was surprised when California Chardonnays received the top four scores. Fifth place went to the 1969
Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin. Other French wines in the competition were the 1971
Pouilly-Fuisse Louis Jadot and the 1970
Chassagne-Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche Joseph Drouhin.
The 1989, 1992 and 1994
vintages were selected for competition in the
Grand European Jury Wine Tasting of 1997.
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French wineWine reviews and map[
1]
Soil conditions and vintages at the Côte des Beaune[
2]
