Domaine Tollot Beaut 2018/2019 Corton Rouge 750ml

[2018] Discreet wood influence frames the more restrained and slightly cooler aromas of the ripe essence of red and dark pinot fruit where background nuances of earth, forest floor and game can be round. The velvety broad-shouldered flavors are rich to the point of opulence while also flashing excellent power on the dusty, serious and beautifully long finish that is even more structured. This robust effort appears to possess fine upside development potential.

Score: 93 points -- Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 2020

[2019] Ripe and well-layered aromas of poached plum, earth and again, hints of the sauvage and leather introduce dense, powerful and impressively scaled flavors that possess a subtle bead of minerality that becomes more pronounced as the finish lingers on the palate. This isn't quite as concentrated as the Fournières but it's even more powerful and more structured as well. Patience absolutely necessary.

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This Domaine was created at the end of the 19th century and initially it only had vines in the commune of Chorey. Today, cousins Nathalie, Jean-Paul and Olivier look after 24 hectares of vineyards in the villages of Chorey, Beaune, Savigny and Aloxe-Corton. They believe that wine is a living substance, which is conceived and shared from birth to tasting, and they aim to offer the wine drinker unique sensations, precise aromas and refined pleasure which they achieve through great determination and unremitting attention to detail. As with most top domaines, the work in the vineyards is of the greatest importance, no fertilizers are used in an attempt to limit the vigor of the vines and a green harvest is done in the summer to help promote healthy grapes that will deliver balanced, subtle and complex aromas. After being hand harvested, the grapes are treated in the vat house to a mix of traditional methods (destalking and manual punching down of the caps) and modern techniques (pneumatic presses and temperature controlled fermentations). The wines are matured in a mix of new and used French oak casks for 16 to 18 months and are bottled at the Domaine under the best technical conditions possible.