Bouchard Père & Fils : Corton-Charlemagne Grand cru Domaine 2022

A creamy style, boasting lemon curd, peach and pastry aromas and flavors. Builds to a crescendo midpalate before turning more focused on the lemon-, mineral- and spice-tinged finish. Multidimensional and long. Best from 2026 through 2035. 80 cases imported.

The Bouchard Corton-Charlemagne reflects the vintage in an impressive way—it is a powerful wine, impressively substantial, long, and almost fat on the palate. Yet there is also an elegance and finesse to the wine that bring it into dynamic equilibrium, with aromas of ripe apple, apricot, and hazelnuts and accents of hawthorn and hay. The grapes come from the domaine's superb four-hectare holding at the top of the slope, where recent studies with Françoise Vannier confirm 50–60 cm of yellow marl and limestone pebbles above the bedrock, explaining the delightful fresh acidity even in a warm year, such as 2022.

The nose of this very beautiful Corton-Charlemagne transports me to an alpine meadow, when all the wildflowers are blossoming. I love the restrained, citrusy richness that is effortlessly interwoven with the stony minerality on the medium- to full-bodied palate of this graceful yet highly structured wine. Still quite tight at the very salty finish, but so much to give. From a 3.65-hectare plot at the very top of the hill of Corton, directly below the forest with a yellow-mark soil. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.