Rene Lequin-Colin Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2022 750ml

Geographically, this site is the obvious outlier in the Lequin-Colin range, but it—as well as the Domaine’s Bâtard-Montrachet holdings—has been with the estate since before the marriage which joined the Lequin and the eponymous Colin families. A mere 0.18 ha was purchased by François’ grandfather after WWII (shortly after the AOC was created in 1937) in the parcel Les Languettes along the border of Les Clos du Roi. At the time, the vineyard was a mixed planting of chardonnay, pinot noir and also a little pinot meunier. The estate made red Corton Les Longuettes until 2011; then half of the vineyard was replanted with chardonnay in 2013. The other half was planted to chardonnay in 1990. It is from this parcel where this wine hails. It has some relation to the Morgeot, with its spicy character, but it is a more impressive wine, as it should be. It’s Lequin-Colin’s “grandest” wine—which seems fitting since the vineyard is named after the-larger-than-life Holy Roman Emperor of the same name—but it’s also a matter of terroir, for on this hill, under the dense forest above, nearly all of the marl has eroded away to leave a narrow band of oolitic limestone mixed with marl. The marl lends body and the limestone the spice and backbone, but this Corton-Charlemagne remains firmly in the Lequin-Colin range with its focus, purity and freshness.