Corton Charlemagne, Domaine Patrick Javillier 2013

The 2013 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru, which comes from a small parcel in Pougets just below the large trees and sees no new wood, has a delineated bouquet with clear honey and lemon curd scents, the mineral/stony notes lying in wait just behind. The palate is crisp and poised on the entry. The acidity is wonderfully judged and lends real tension to this Corton Charlemagne, while there is a convincing level of energy on the finish. This may actually just pip the 2012 past the post.

This is the first wine to display any appreciable amount of wood and even here it's quite subtle as it easily allows the notably exotic aromas of dried yellow fruit, lychee nut and dried tangerine peel-infused aromas to shine. This is a markedly powerful effort, even by the elevated standards of Corton-Charlemagne, with its dense and muscular big-bodied flavors that terminate in a beautifully complex if mildly edgy and dry finale. As the description suggests the balance isn't perfect but there is so much underlying material that my score offers the benefit of the doubt that this will better harmonize with a few years of bottle age.