2016 Domaine Bruno Clavelier, Corton Grand Cru, Le Rognet et Corton

The 2016 Corton le Rognet Grand Cru has a wonderful, vibrant bouquet with perfumed wild strawberry and raspberry preserve aromas, wilted rose petals and just a hint of sous bois. This is very detailed and precise. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin on the entry, but the concentration is delivered on the back palate—a firm grip, this Corton becoming more and more masculine toward the finish and then quite saline on the aftertaste. Excellent.

(13.5% alcohol; from what Clavelier describes as soft calcaire ): Bright medium red. Very complex, soil-driven aromas of raspberry, cherry, flint, fig, peony and rose petal. Not at all an austere style of Corton, conveying a fine-grained texture and an element of wildness to its red fruit and peony flavors. The plushest, sweetest and most voluminous of this 2016 collection, finishing with lovely lingering fruits and flowers. This wine has a long track record for being seductive and harmonious early on in the warm vintages--but does this 2016 have a hidden dimension?