95pts Jasper Morris

15 hl/ha despite the best efforts of a wine turbine and bonfire which I saw in action at 4.30a.m. on a cold snowy morning. Pale colour, backward nose, white flowers perhaps. This has a fine balanced fruit, actually sweeter and riper, then oakier behind, with an attractive mineral thread. Needs a little freshening, which will happen before bottling Drink from 2026-2032. Tasted: October 2022.

92pts Burghound

A more restrained nose grudgingly reflects its aromas of strong petrol and mineral reduction with background hints of citrus zest and oak. There is fine mid-palate density to the tautly muscular broad-shouldered flavors that also exude evident minerality on the tightly coiled, lingering and balanced finale. This could use better depth so like the En Caradeux, at least a few years of keeping should prove beneficial.

Winery Notes

The unassuming Vincent Rapet whose family can trace its roots in Pernand back to 1795 continues to operate largely under the radar, making thoughtful incremental improvements, some of which were described in my last vintage report. There's a long track record here, and I can extol the merits of the domaine's older wines from personal experience: the 1979 is among the best mature examples of Corton-Charlemagne I've tasted. As I've written before, vinification is pretty classical, with the whites whole-cluster pressed and fermented in barrels (some 20% of which are new), as well as a few concrete eggs for some cuvées that Rapet believes give a more tensile, fresher profile to the wine. The reds, which have improved in recent years, see a brief cold soak followed by some 15 days of maceration, maturing in around 30% new wood from carefully chosen sources, including Chassin and Taransaud. This is a fine set of 2019s that are sure to represent good values.