2019 - Corton Grand Cru Prince Florent de Merode, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

The 2019 Corton Grand Cru has turned out brilliantly in bottle, wafting from the glass with a striking bouquet of dark berries, blood orange, potpourri, exotic spices, cedar and peonies. Full-bodied, layered and velvety, it's deep and concentrated, with lively acids, supple tannins and a penetrating, rose-inflected finish. It's the best Corton that the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has produced to date.

The 2019 Corton Grand Cru is a big, rich wine that announces the vintage in style. Black cherry, plum and lavender are some of the many notes that are dialed up in the 2019. This is an especially somber, almost brooding Corton with a good deal of lift from the whole clusters that lends verve and energy. Hints of incense, dried herbs and gravel build into the heady finish. Stem influence is a bit more pronounced here than it is in the other wines, but the overall impression is of a Burgundy that marries elegance with power. Yields were just 15 hectoliters per hectare.

'Three little jewels', according to C&B. Clos du Roi (0.57 hectares), Les Bressandes (1.2 hectares) and Les Renardes (0.5 hectares) are set into this, the 11th vintage since the Domaine acquired an extended lease from the Prince de Merode family. Just 15 hl/ha from these 55-year-old vines, picked on 19 September. Total production 367 cases of a dozen bottles (as if anyone gets their hands on a case of dozen bottles…).Fine-boned nose somehow – definitely not intense – with some suggestion of red cherries. Elegant rather than pronounced on the palate too. Quite marked acidity. Neat and refined – quite a contrast to the 2020 Cortons we’ve been tasting. Juicy and sweet but lacking the savour of the Vosne wines. Really builds on the palate and the long finish is the most indicative trait of the wine’s grand provenance. The aftertaste went on for at least a minute! (JR)