2019 Domaine Follin Arbelet, Corton Grand Cru, Les Bressandes

Aromas of cherries, raspberries, warm spices and loamy soil introduce the 2019 Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru, a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy wine that's enveloping and gourmand, structured around ripe tannins and succulent acids. Like the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, this is sourced from the Poisot family.

The 2019 Corton Grand Cru is a tad subdued on the nose and a little smudged compared to the Corton-Bressandes from Tollot-Beaut, with fleshy red fruit and touches of hickory coming through with time. The palate is medium-bodied and soft, with a keen thread of acidity rendering this a very approachable Corton in spite of its youth. There's a pinch of cracked black pepper on the finish and a spicy aftertaste. Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting.

Cask sample. Mid, glowing crimson. More reductive than the Corton but attractively so, or at least promisingly so. Smoky and a touch rubbery. Rich in sweet, dark-red fruit and with a coolness that is not about the temperature, a dark elegance. Super-fine texture but tails off a bit on the finish. Savoury, charry aftertaste but that does not mean the oak is in the least overdone. (JH)