Red Wines

wines

The wonderful Corton-Charlemagne from Rapet offers pronounced apricot and quince fruit with a lemon-peel edge. The texture is rich and dense, yet balanced by a surprisingly crisp acidity for the vintage. The grapes from En Charlemagne, Chaumes et La Voierosse and Les Combes were picked on 11 September, right before the rain, and pressed as whole clusters before fermentation, mostly in 250-litre casks with a bit of foudre and one amphora. Ideally, I would age this at least 10 years and enjoy it over the next 40.Decanter Magazine | 96 DECRapet’s 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with aromas of peach and pear, mingled with white flowers, wet stones, crushed mint and hazelnut. Full-bodied, satiny and layered, it’s deep and concentrated, with racy acids and a seamless, complete profile. This vintage marks a step up in texture and mid-palate volume for Rapet, and it is well worth seeking out.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThe 2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru comes mainly from the lieu-dit of En Charlemagne and was matured in one-third new oak plus amphora and foudre. What a lovely bouquet! Delineated and fresh with hints of oyster shell and crushed stone, this exudes class. The palate is well balanced with fine weight, a keen line of acidity, hints of apricot and hazelnut and a poised but sustained finish. Bon vin!Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2023 Corton-Charlemagne from Domaine Rapet Père et Fils is a beautiful young wine. It shows off superb depth and nascent complexity on the nose, soaring from the glass in a mix of pear, passion fruit, a gorgeous mosaic of limestone minerality, almond, white lilies, honeysuckle and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a great foundation of Corton-Charlemagne minerality, bright acids, great focus and grip and a complex, impeccably balanced and very long finish. This is still a very young wine and I would try to not touch a bottle until it has had at least five or six years’ worth of cellaring. It should prove to be very long-lived. (Drink between 2030 - 2065)John Gilman | 95 JGThere are various ages of vine in the Rapet holding, with plantings in 1945 and 1950 plus 1980s and a 2018 plot. Mostly made in 350-litre barrels, plus one 12hl foudre, an egg, and a terracotta amphora. Lemon and lime, with some classic Charlemagne style fruit on the nose, a delicious lemon touch. The stones infuse the finish which is very persistent. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.Jasper Morris | 93-95 JMThis is very firmly reduced and while the reduction does not extend to the palate, it’s clear that the nose will need extended aeration. Much more interesting are the sappy, powerful and muscular flavors that also display evidence minerality on the long, compact and balanced finale. This is one of those wines that’s difficult to rate because while the reduction may dissipate with time, that is a supposition, not a guarantee.Burghound | 91 BH