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96 By Robert Parker
From 40 year old vines on the Aloxe side of the cru, Coche?s 2006 Corton-Charlemagne is intensely bitter-sweet and chalky throughout. Black tea, pugent herbs, iris, narcissus, and an alkaline, saline note suggestive of ocean breezes greet the nose. On the palate, this grips with penetrating pungency and tactile stoniness, leaving behind a memorable concentrate of chalk, salts, faintly bitter herbal essences, along with marrow and animal bone reduction. Surely it will go on to further glory in the bottle and should reward 15 or more years? cellaring. I have not tasted the 2005, a wine that already appears to be legendary. Jean-Francois Coche?s 2006s did not even begin their malo-lactic transformation until high summer, and several were not finished when I last tasted there in November, 2007. Coche does not think 2006 quite measures up to 2002 or 2005, and given the amazing wines he rendered in the latter vintage, one can appreciate his perspective. Nonetheless, few if any other 2006s I tasted were able to combine complexity and charm, vintage-typical ripeness and verve in the way these did.
Producer
Domaine Coche-Dury
Coche-Dury is not only one of the most iconic producers in all of Burgundy, but they are also one of the most enigmatic. It feels like a golden ticket is necessary to get through their cellar doors. They have no email and the only way one might be able to get an appointment is through a fax. Maybe. But doubtful. They are also incredibly humble. They know the greatness of their wines, but they are still simple 'vignerons'. What matters to them the most is working in the vines and allowing the grapes best express the terroir. Jean-François Coche, the patriarch of the domaine, began working with his father in the early 1970s. In 1975, he married Odile Dury which added to the family holdings, creating the name 'Coche-Dury'. Today, his son Raphaël has more or less taken over with the help of his young wife, Charline. From their almost 9 hectares of vines, they produce Bourgogne, Puligny-Montrachet, Auxey-Duresses, Monthélie, Volnay, and their two most famous appellations - Meursault (various bottlings) and Corton-Charlemagne. Unlike other producers of the region, they resisted much change and the way they make their wines now is the way that they have long produced them. They also like their wines to have verve so tend to pick earlier than later to keep the grapes innate acidity.