Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne 2020

Henri Boillot is one of the Côte de Beaune's most demanding and exacting producers — a winemaker whose stated philosophy is to make whites that are straight, taut, precise, pure and elegant, and whose Corton-Charlemagne is among the most uncompromising expressions of that vision. Henri Boillot founded the domaine in a constant pursuit of excellence, concentrating today on the vinification of whites he loves in a direct, tense, precise and elegant style — an approach that shapes the Corton-Charlemagne in a direction quite unlike the richer, more opulent expressions of this grand cru that other producers favour. The wine is fermented in oak barrels and aged for 18 months, with the extended time in wood adding texture without ever softening the wine's essential structural austerity. 

A distinctly smoky nose combines notes of green apple, white flower, spice and a hint of iodine — excellent density to the powerful, muscular and broad-shouldered flavours, blessed with so much dry extract that the mouthfeel is almost chewy, all wrapped in a borderline painfully intense, compact and hugely long finish. Pristine but reticent aromas of yellow peach, smoky silex and spices — this wine is never in a fruity style, says Boillot himself. At once saline in an oyster shell way and sweet in the mouth but buffered by rocky minerality, this powerful, bracing wine is certainly not about fruit, finishing with an element of tannic structure that reminds one of a red wine. Cellar it with real patience — this is a grand cru that reveals its best qualities only after a decade, and holds that quality for decades more