90% Voierosses. 10% Combes, red soil on top of limestone. One third tressed vines, one third new wood, one third whole bunch. Slightly paler than some, with a floral note, this is very far from a massive Corton. The depth of flavour, in darker fruit, arrives at the back, with an attractive crunch to finish. Understated but definitely fine. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.

The 2023 Corton Grand Cru has turned out nicely, revealing aromas of sweet red berries, orange zest and rose petals, followed by a medium to full-bodied, lively palate framed by chalky tannins. As usual, it will reward a little patience. The unassuming Vincent Rapet, whose family can trace its roots in Pernand back to 1795, is now joined by his son, Robin, at the helm of this historic 20-hectare domaine. There's a long track record here, and I can extol the merits of the domaine's older wines from personal experience. As I've written before, vinification is pretty classical, with the whites whole-cluster pressed and fermented in barrels (some 20% of which are new), including a considerable proportion of larger formats, as well as a few concrete eggs for some cuvées; Rapet believes them to give a more tensile, fresher profile to the wine. The reds, which have improved in recent years, see a brief cold soak, followed by some 15 days of maceration, maturing in around 30% new wood from carefully chosen sources, including Chassin and Taransaud. With the 2023 vintage, Rapet has made a subtle shift toward picking at more complete maturity, something that has brought more texture and plenitude to the domaine's white wines.(WK)

Note: from Les Perrières and Les Chaumes et Voierosse - the former has 50+ year old vines and the latter 30 to 35-year-old vines. A more layered, though less floral, nose combines notes of both red and blue pinot fruit, newly turned earth and a whiff of the sauvage. The caressing, suave and seductively textured medium weight flavors possess impressively volume and exuding evident minerality on the sneaky long, firm, compact and youthfully austere finale. This is potentially excellent though it's also a wine that's going to require at least moderate patience.