J F Coche Dury Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 1989 750ml

Burghound.com/ Tasted: Oct 01, 2001
This is one of the finest white wines I have ever had the pleasure of drinking and represents for me the supreme expression of this vineyard. While I have had many great examples of Corton-Charlemagne over the years, none have ever quite encompassed the masculine power, minerality, breed, intensity and essence of wet rocks quite like this wine. Unlike so many 89s, the acid fruit/balance relative to the considerable extract is perfect. As if this weren't enough, the length this wine displays is so extraordinary that only a few of the best examples of Montrachet approach it. In short, I was simply in awe of a wine that is knocking on the door of perfection and best of all, this wine is still on the way up.

The Domaine was established in the 1920s by Leon Coche. Some vineyard plots with established grapevines were purchased and Leon bottled some wine himself.The vineyard land was passed down to Leon's three children, with Georges Coche taking control of his share in 1964 and continuing to run the estate and purchase new vineyard land. Jean-Francois Coche took over from his father Georges, on his fathers retirement in 1973. Jean-Francois's wife has the surname Dury which was added to the name of the estate.
Jean-Francois Coche officially retired in 2010 but there will clearly be continuity of style in the hands of his son Raphael who has been working alongside his father since 2003. There have been some changes already in the detail: the vineyards are now all ploughed, and a pneumatic press has been ordered to work alongside the old mechanical Vaslin.
The wines are firmly crushed before pressing, which must surely be a factor in the Coche-Dury style, then fermented and matured in barrels using a relatively low percentage of new wood, not exceeding 25% except for the very top wines.

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