A domaine wine, Bouchard farms this on their 8.77 acres on the east face of the Corton hill. The hot, dry vintage played into that exposition toward the morning sun, yielding a wine with notes of licorice amped up in flavors of dark cherry skin, lasting with a warm glow. Tasted over the course of several days, it holds to its Corton satisfaction, tense and vibrant, with intriguing layers and meaty depths. Cozy and cuddly if you decant it now, this is a wine for long aging.

In 2018 the picking began on 5th September and yielded a rich, ripe red and black berry fruit character, yet there was no sense of excess, and the wine retained a pleasant freshness despite the heat. The tannins are firm, the texture rewardingly dense, and the finish is long. Produced from the large parcel purchased from the Moyne Jacqueminot family with an east-southeast exposure, just below the portion dedicated to Chardonnay.

The 2018 Le Corton Grand Cru has turned out very nicely in bottle, offering up a deep and complex bouquet of cassis, wild berries, grilled meats, black truffle, blood orange and sweet forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, deep and muscular, it's layered and concentrated, with powdery tannins, lively acids and a long, sapid finish. While this is a powerful, structured wine, it's also very refined, and this is one 2018 that will offer a broad drinking window.- WK