Vertical Tasting of Domaine Bonneau Du Martray Corton Charlemagne at Cafe Maxx

"The First Duty of wine is to be Red...the second is to be a Burgundy"
 Harry Waugh

We have another of Burgundies top producers on Thursday, September 3rd at Café Maxx.   This time we will feature a vertical tasting of Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru white Burgundy from Domaine Bonneau Du Martray.  This famous producer is the only one that can boast they produce no wines other than Grand Cru, one white and one red from one of the noblest of sites in the Cotes de Beaune.  I could tell you the story of this famous region and this producer but I came across this piece about Bonneau Du Martray written in the Burgundy Wine Report so I included it after the menu for the event.  We only have 12 seats available for this tasting and Chef Oliver Saucy has prepared a special three course tasting menu to accompany the wines and the fee for this event is $95 + tax + Gratuity.

Bonneau Du Martray Corton Charlemagne Vertical tasting
At Café Maxx
Thursday, September 3rd

Tasting Line-UP:

2004 Domaine Bonneau Martray Corton Grand Cru
Price: $205.50    Sale $180.84    

 This vintage is just past the 10 year mark where Jean-Charles Le Bault de Martray says his wines traditionally open back up and start to drink in their peak years of enjoyment.  This was not a great vintage for Burgundy but this great producer makes excellent wines every year and this may be one of the most enjoyable wines of the evening because of its age.

2006 Domaine Bonneau Martray Corton Grand Cru
Price: $450.00    Sale $396.00

(94 Points) Jean-Charles Le Bault de Martray has established a singular track record for wine from a single large parcel in the heart of the original Charlemagne vineyards of Corton. His distinctive methods typically include separate fermentation of each vineyard block; a year in barrel with late summer malolactic; and a full six months on the fine lees in tank, in which state I tasted his 2006 Corton-Charlemagne. An architect by training, Le Bault de Martray values -brightness, precision and proportionality- and it is easy to see those virtues exemplified in this wine, characterized by clarity, subtlety, firmness of structure, and sheer refreshment unusual for the vintage. Scents of fresh lime, heliotrope and white peach usher in a subtly-creamy yet persistently bright and juicy display of continued citrus, peach, and inner-mouth floral notes. Airy and elegant, this finishes almost delicately but tenaciously. Le Bault de Martray cautions that his Corton-Charlemagne virtually uniformly -shuts down- for several years soon after bottling. I would recommend planning on revisiting this 2006 in 3-5 years and it should repay at least an additional decade's bottle maturation. The palpable extract and depth of sweet-saline, savor in the 2005 put it in a similar league and in line for a similarly long life. Wine Advocate #180, Dec 2008

2007 Domaine Bonneau Martray Corton Grand Cru
Price: $210.00    Sale $184.80

(94 Points) De la Moriniere is always at pains to caution that his white “shuts down” for several years soon after bottling, but in that case I must have tasted his 2007 Corton-Charlemagne before that happened. Cooling herbal, restrained floral and bitter-sweet hints of black currant and citrus rind on the nose lead to a luscious tide of ripe yellow plum, white peach, lime, and grapefruit tinged with chalk, salt, and iodine. A silken texture in no way diminishes the impression of clarity and refreshment. Faintly honeyed and nut oil notes add a sense of richness and depth in a finish of utmost purity of refreshing fruit; clarity to mineral nuances; and vibratory energy. When one compares the 2006 side-by-side today, the latter does indeed show a more overt stoniness and – for all of its textural richness and additional amplitude – suffers slightly in comparison with such fresh fruit vivacity as accrues to the 2007. But either of these contrasting reflections of a great site should be well worth following for more than a decade.
As usual, Jean-Charles Le Bault de la Moriniere gave his Chardonnay from the heart of En Charlemagne a year in cask followed by six months on the fine lees in tank. He picked his one Pinot block early in September, then paid his crew for eight or nine days while the rest of his parcels ripened completely. "I would never have expected such quality given the weather conditions," says de la Moriniere, but then he reflected on the frequent divergence between human psychological perception of "good weather" and what really matters, namely the needs of the vine.  eRobertParker.com #186, Dec 2009

2009 Domaine Bonneau Martray Corton Grand Cru
Price: $217.50    Sale $191.40

(94 Points) Bonneau de Martray’s 2009 Corton-Charlemagne is quite a bit richer, deeper, and more voluptuous than the 2010 tasted alongside it. Ripe pears, apples, white flowers and crushed rocks are all woven together in an elegant style that is impossible to resist. This relatively fat, full-bodied wine needs time to fully emerge, but it is shaping up to be a beauty. Layers of fruit build to the intense, generous finish. Anticipated maturity: 2014+.
Sometimes I wish Bonneau de Martray made more wines, as my tastings with Jean-Charles le Bault de la Moriniere are always much too brief. Readers will find wines of impeccable polish and class at this small domaine tucked in the hillsides of Pernand-Vergelesses. De la Moriniere told me that he hoped to make the red Corton once again available to the estate’s customers in the US, which is great news, although it hasn’t happened yet. According to de la Moriniere, 2009 was a year unlike any other he has seen for its consistent, uninterrupted good weather. The harvest started on September 9th. Yields came in at 39.4 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton-Charlemagne and 27.05 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton. The Corton-Charlemagne finished its malo in June 2010, while the Corton started its malo in May, 2010 and finished in August. Both of the 2009s were bottled in Spring 2011. By contrast, the 2010s were brought in beginning on September 23, after a year characterized by an irregular flowering that lowered yields and an equally variable summer with periods of rain and heat. Conditions improved markedly during the month of September. Yields of 30.50 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton-Charlemagne and 22 hectoliters per hectare for the Corton were the lowest ever recorded at the domaine with the exception of 2003.  eRobertParker.com #202, Aug 2012

2011 Domaine Bonneau Martray Corton Grand Cru
Price: $187.50    Sale $165

 (93 Points) Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. Bonneau du Martray’s Corton-Charlemagne 2011 has a mineral-driven bouquet – linear and taut, with slate and granite aromas gradually unfurling in the glass. The palate is clean and fresh with supremely well-judged acidity. Touches of apricot and mango lie in the background with the citrus element playing the main role. Beautifully balanced, this is the Corton-Charlemagne of the flight with impressive tension and persistence. eRobertParker.com, Nov 2014

2012 Domaine Bonneau Martray Corton Grand Cru
Price: $205.00    Sale $180.40

(93-95 Points)  The sample of 2012 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru was taken from tank. It had been racked in September and was resting on the fine lees and will be racked again in January. The malolactics were delayed and only finished towards the end of August. It has a very subtle bouquet with hints of chalk, gunflint and citrus fruits – almost Chablis-like in terms of delineation and personality. The palate has a marine-influence on the entry, traces of seaweed, plus a tingle of zesty fruit on the side of the mouth. It is tender and airy towards the finish with traces of lemon sherbet lingering long after the wine has departed. The red grand cru is no longer distributed into the United States since the previous importer declined their allocation. Not the greatest business decision since Jean-Charles has pulled it up by the scruff of its neck in recent years by lowering yields and fine-tuning the vinification.
It has been three years since I last drove up the steep lanes of Pernand-Vergelesses to visit Domaine Bonneau du Martray. As the heavens opened, I hoped that proprietor Jean-Charles de Bault de la Moriniere (no, I never use his full name in casual conversation either) had fixed the problem of an underground spring that I recalled leaking down his cellar walls, lest barrels of Corton-Charlemagne find themselves bobbing down to the RN74. Jean-Charles had not changed a jot since we our last tete-a-tete, tall and aristocratic in demeanor, loquacious and convivial to a fault, he is the gentleman of Charlemagne. As a significant owner of precious vines on the famous historical Corton hill, specifically the largest holding in “En Charlemagne” that was a prime target for hailstorm, it can be safely said that Jean-Charles has not had a stress-free time. Let’s put a figure on that: 75% of his crop was lost after not one, but two devastating hailstorms. At least other producers have some kind of insurance policy in owning a scattering of parcels so that if one plot of vines suffers hail damage, another will be unscathed. With just two grand crus, Corton-Charlemagne and Corton Rouge, Jean-Charles can only look forward to, is recompense next year. In these situations, one can find solace in the old adage: less is more. “I find the Corton-Charlemagne to be a substantial wine. It is almost like the 2010 with a slightly richer character,” he comments with utmost equanimity.  eRobertParker.com #210, Dec 2013

Menu

First course
Golden tomato poached hog snapper, citrus butter, purple potatoes and chive brocolinni

Second course
Maine lobster salad with foie gras, tropical fruit and puff pastry croutons

Third course
Bell and Evans chicken breast with white gigante beans
prosciutto and summer vegetable and lemon scented natural sauce

The price of this tasting is $95 + tax + Gratuity.  There are only 12 seats available for this event.

A bit about The Domaine: Taken from the Burgundy Report Written by: billn
https://www.burgundy-report.com/autumn-2004/profile-domaine-bonneau-du-martray-pernand/
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Charles the Great – also known as the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne; Charles towered over his age – literally at a reputed six feet four inches – and certainly over his father, King Pepin the Short! Legend says that his wife ordered the planting of white grapes so that her husband could drink white wine instead of red, thereby avoiding the staining of his regal beard. Reputedly, that same vineyard is the piece of land that Charlemagne bequeathed to the Abbey of Saulieu in 775, a piece of land on the hill of Corton between Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton that still bears his name.

If the story about the white grapes is true, then the wife concerned could have been Desiderata daughter of King Desiderius of the Lombards. Charles married Desiderata, the second of his 5 wives, with the aim of forging a peace. Unfortunately for this liaison, Pope Adrian I intervened in 772 asking Charles for help against attacks by King Desiderius and his Lombards. Charles divorced his wife, invaded Italy, defeated his former father-in-law and added a new title to his growing list – King of the Lombards.

Winning so many battles and ruling over so many peoples, Charles had built himself an empire and was a defacto emperor. It was, however, Christmas Day 800 before he received the title officially. Charles was praying in Saint Peter’s Church in Rome when Pope Leo III arrived to place the crown upon his head – the Holy Roman Emperor at last.

Incredibly, Corton has known at least twelve centuries of cultivation. Unfortunately we know little of Charlemagne’s times & vines; particularly what inspired his followers to plant in this specific place, with this specific aspect – an aspect that 1,200 years later is considered one of the most gifted exposures in the world. What we do know, however, is that people became fully conscious of the characteristics of Corton-Charlemagne only much more recently – or at least that’s the story the lower prices the white wine used to fetch (vs the red) tells. It’s anyone’s guess what grapes made up the early plantings, it was not until some time well after the Revolution that the the Pinot Blanc and Gamay was ripped out, to be replaced with today’s mix of predominantly Chardonnay and some Pinot Noir.

The hill of Corton certainly looks like it should be the home of a grand cru, a large round hill crowned by the small wood of Corton. The hill is unusual in Burgundy, in that being round it has a multitude of exposures; whilst most of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune face South or South-East, the hill of Corton allows other exposures – facing West is where you will find the sub-climats of En Charlemagne and Le Charlemagne and precisely where you will find the vines of Domaine Bonneau du Martray. The Grand Cru vineyards are restricted to an altitude of roughly 320-370 meters, predominantly red at the bottom of the hill and whites at the top. There are actually 72 hectares allowed to use the Corton-Charlemagne name but in 1999 it was a little over 51 hectares in production.
The ground of Corton-Charlemagne is made up of three layers; a limestone base, a covering of white marl – more or less depending on the plot – and finally the most fragile part, the topsoil. Retaining this topsoil is one of the owners’ greatest challenges. You can see in the pictures (right) that at the bottom of the hill wooden planks often block the roadway-gaps in the old walls, hoping to catch any topsoil washed away by sudden rainstorms. You can also see that they have some success but I’m not sure how the different domaines ‘share’ this pile of fine-grained treasure!
Personally I have no doubt that Corton-Charlemagne is one of the great white Burgundies. Whereas a Chevalier-Montrachet or even a Montrachet will start relatively elegantly in the mouth, their flavours building and building into crescendo of enjoyment – Corton-Charlemagne is different! A typical Corton-Charlemagne starts as the others would finish – with a punch – and slowly, slowly fades into the finish, that’s not to say they are not elegant but a Charlemagne likes you to know it’s arrived. I love to drink Charlemagne young, it’s the essence of Chardonnay but once it gets to 3 years old, leave it for another 10!
Versus the other white Grand Crus of the Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne is a relative bargain, normally half their price but often on a similar quality level. There are also other white wines from the hill of Corton that can carry a Grand Cru label, but to my taste they rarely offer what Charlemagne does – there can be the punch, but there is usually something missing – either the balancing acidity or the length of the finish.
We shouldn’t forget the red wines from Charlemagne; for sure, not the same reputation as elsewhere in Corton, too often lacking a little Grand Cru intensity and a little coarse in the tannin department but as you will read, that is a vision worth revisiting.

The history of the domaine bonneau du martray

The seeds of the current Domaine Bonneau du Martray were sown at the sale of the confiscated church lands that followed the Revolution; the domaine effectively becoming only the third owners of ‘Charlemagne’ in a thousand years, after Charlemagne himself and the Church. The Revolution mostly failed to extend options for the peasantry – to them, only their bosses changed – it was mainly the second tier of aristocracy that avoided ‘the chop’, officers of the Army or rich merchant classes that could afford to bid at the auctions ‘biens nationaux’; so it was that the Bonneau-Véry family purchased lands that included the ‘Charlemagne’. The Bonneau family were incidentally direct descendants of a very famous Burgundian – Nicolas Rolin – investor of the Hospices de Beaune. In 1855 Dr Lavalle listed the Bonneau-Vérys as owning a whopping 19.7 hectares of Corton-Charlemagne. There was a family falling out in the early years, but one René Bonneau du Martray came to the fore to lead the domain. In 1892 Danguy & Aubertin (Les Grands Vins de Bourgogne) not only listed Bonneau du Martray as principle owners of Charlemagne in both Pernand and Aloxe, but interestingly ownership in a number of lieu dits in Volnay too; En Cailleret, Village de Volnay, La Gigotte and La Cave. Like many domaines, ownership of such lands in Burgundy usually entailed cost rather than profit so when lands passed down a generation, many were the times that people opted for the money rather than the land plus a tax bill, hence, the domaine’s smaller size today.
The recent history of the domaine starts with another René Bonneau du Martray (born 1886) that childless, passed on the estate to his niece, Comtesse Jean le Bault de la Morinière. Jean, husband of the Comtesse, took charge in 1969. It was Jean who extended the cellars and decided to domaine bottle, previously the wine went to the négociants. Following the untimely passing of the Comtesse, son Jean-Charles le Bault de la Morinière took over from his father Jean in 1994, returning from Paris where he worked as an architect.
the domaine today
The modern day Domaine of Bonneau du Martray covers just over 11 hectares, 9.5h of which are planted to Chardonnay for their Corton-Charlemagne, the Pinot Noir of the remainder is sited towards the bottom of their plot in the richer soil producing their ever-improving red Corton. Although these 11 hectares are contiguous they are bisected by the notional border between Pernand Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton. They own the largest part of ‘En Charlemagne’, predominantly in the administrative domaine of Pernand (at one time they owned it all), and similarly ‘Le Charlemagne’ administered mainly by Aloxe. The buildings of the domaine are housed high up on of the steep streets of Pernand. It’s a small team, some of whom have been with the domaine for over 30 years; just seven people including the sons (Bernard & Jean-Pierre) of Henri Bruchon who was chief vigneron until retiring in 1994.
The domaine is well known as being one of only two that produce only Grand Crus, but given that the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti now produce the occasional Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, perhaps they are now the only owners of that particular crown!
Jean-Charles has fantastic reminiscences; apparently as a small child his first word was neither Mama nor Papa but ‘helicopter!’ This was an interesting coincidence, as his father decided in 1993 to follow the lead of Petrus and use a helicopter to try and dry the vines; his neighbours gathered to watch, exclaiming – “C’est le Cinema!”. There were several ‘helicopter vintages’ that followed! Then there was the time that Jean-Charles took his life in his hands when discussing their red Corton with his father who was, after many disappointments, all for ripping out their Pinot Noir and replanting with Chardonnay. Jean-Charles casually suggesting that his father, just maybe, didn’t know how to make red wine! Fortunately for Jean-Charles, Jean Senior simply agreed and said maybe Jean-Charles should have a go…

the vineyard and it’s vines

Across all the vineyards the average vine age is 45 years. The Chardonnays are actually separated into 16 different parcels all of which are vinified separately. The highest parcels add the floral aspects to the wine, the middle parcels adding to the power and the lower parcels providing the sweetness. The 1970’s were a time of change, many of the vines were tired and required replacing. Jean had aquaintance to one Mr Raymond Bernard, a pioneer of clonal selection – this was the route he took for replacement. Jean-Charles when he started in the domaine decided to check the efficiency of these clones, not just by the quality of the cuvées, but investigating underground how good the root systems were. Whilst happy with these vines, he didn’t want to lose the diversity of a vineyard where many vines pre-dated clones so in recent times sélection massale has been used as the means of replacement. Jean-Charles is convinced that vines gradually mutate to fit their location; to amplify his assertion he points to the vines of Anne-Claude Leflaive and Dominique Lafon – also chardonnay – but their grapes and vines look quite different to those of his grown in Corton. This observation leads him to consider his vineyard an ‘entity’.
Jean-Charles points to the times after the war when first, horses were replaced with tractors, and second because the ground became more and more compacted, a dependancy on chemical treatments grew and grew. He says that it was precisely this that made the soil more and more fragile, despite being farmers, there was a generation that forgot to look after the soil which bore them their fruit. Today there are no herbicides or fertilisers allowed in or on the domaine’s vineyards.