6 bottles of 2020 Dominique Cornin Bourgogne Blanc
This is not another story about a brash young producer in Burgundy giving the proverbial finger to the traditions of a storied - and at times, stagnant - region. No, this is instead a testament to two chief tenets of winemaking: respect for and understanding of the land, and the awareness, restraint, and confidence needed to communicate the fruit directly from vine to bottle... without getting one's personality in the way. The tremendous depth and precision contained within Dominique Cornin's Bourgogne Blanc, its coiled tension ready to bound out of the bottle and burrow deep inside your brain, is a Burgundy marked by a sense of place and vineyard character, and not the stamp of the winemaker themself.
The youngest of Dominique's single vineyards that make up his domaine were planted by his grandfather over 50 years ago, which accounts for the concentration that his wines carry. His other two primary parcels, at 75 and 100 years old, bear in their deep roots the essence of the Mâconnais itself, its varied soils ranging from limestone to clay to sand; the result is a confluence of different textures, and a wine that shows power and delicate nuance in equal measure. Certified biodynamic for the better part of two decades, Dominique and his son Romain endeavor to “produce grapes that our children, grandchildren want and can eat without having to think twice,” and “cultivate these vines while respecting nature, non-invasive yet in tune with the vineyard’s needs.” In honoring the vineyards and rejecting the temptation to feed any sense of ego, they offer a glimpse at honest winemaking in its purest form: orchard fruits seasoned with allspice and clove pulse across the palate, as lemon custard and nougat, spiked with saline and citrus, follow closely behind, and with elastic texture that broadens spectacularly, hitting every sensory center it can before concentrating and finishing on a fine point.
A representation of Burgundy's traditions, the pinnacle of its present, and a hopeful nod toward its future
