Domaine Maldant Pauvelot Aloxe-Corton Rouge 2017

Domaine Maldant Pauvelot Aloxe-Corton Rouge 2017

__
( regular price: $39.99 )
This wine is quite dark in color, with the shade varying from deep ruby to crimson and garnet. While young, the wine’s aroma suggests a spring garden with small red fruits (raspberry, strawberry) and black fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry). The aroma intensifies with age and evolves into peony and jasmine, preserved and brandied fruits, pistachio, prune, leather, truffle, mushroom and cinnamon. The deep soil begets a vigorous, full-bodied Pinot Noir, robust yet refined. Tender and fruity, this wine reaches its peak after 3-5 years in the cellar, revealing a firm and well-built body, richly chewy and with pleasing tannins.

The impressive power of the Aloxe-Corton reds demand forceful, aromatic dishes. Their generous and opulent personality softens firm-textured and fibrous meats. Their solid but distinguished tannins are a match for marbled meats and brown sauces. These great red wines go best with rib steaks, braised lamb, and poultry - roasted or glazed. Ethnic dishes such as couscous with meat or meat tajines also combine well with this wine, as do soft-centered cheeses like Époisses, Ami du Chambertin, or Livarot. Serving temperature: 59 to 60°F.

Linking the Côte de Nuits with the Côte de Beaune, the hill of Corton signals a change in the landscape. Towards Beaune the land becomes more rounded, its sharp contours yielding to gentle valleys. Like its neighbors Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton (pronounced “Alosse”) enjoys a perfect wine-growing location and forms as it were a guard of honor on the approach to the prestigious appellations Grands Crus Corton and Corton-Charlemagne. The Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée dates back to 1938.

A cross section of the Corton hill reveals a classic geological picture. At altitudes of between 200 and 300 meters, the soil is reddish brown with flint and limestone debris (known as “chaillots”) mixed in, and is rich in potassium and phosphoric acid. The vines face due east. Wines from the Northern end are more tender and fruity while those from the Southern end are firmer and more complex. Pebbly soil favors supple, highly-bred wines, while clay and marl breeds firmness and complexity.