Tasted in Aloxe-Corton with Victor Voarick, 14 June 2023
Domaine Michel Voarick
1 Place du Chapitre
21420 Aloxe-Corton
Tel: +33 3 80 26 48 82
www.domaine-michel-voarick.com
Sited in the heart of Aloxe-Corton, Domaine Voarick covers about 8.5 hectares of vines in the Côte de Beaune. For my first visit here I tasted with Victor Voarick who’s been here at the domaine for 2 years – the fourth generation of the family to work here – having previously worked in Australia’s Yarra Valley and Victoria, also for 2 years.
‘The cuverie is about 200 years old‘ explains Victor – so it predates the 1920s arrival of Pierre Voarick who started the domaine here in 1924. The eponymous Michel Voarick was Pierre’s son and Victor’s grandfather. In-between was Jean-Marc Voarick who you will still find at the domaine.
As you may expect, an old Aloxe domaine has mainly vines here, and in this case in Pernand – nearly 2 hectares of which are classed as grand cru – the largest part today (1.4 ha) is raised as Corton-Charlemagne. The bulk of their Charlemagne comes from, the once mainly red, climat of Les Languettes plus a small parcel in Renardes. Their reds come from Renardes plus some from Bressandes.
Victor on 2022:
“I’m very happy with the vintage – I’m very happy with both the volumes and the great quality grapes too. We’ve just moved the whites from barrels to the vats. As for the reds here, none have finished their malos yet – I think due to our very cold cellar.”
The wines…
For a first visit I was really impressed by a number of these wines – wines that are worth your time and in some cases they are even worth a special search!!
2022 Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc
From Pernand’s Boutières.
An easy breadth of ripe citrus. Vibrant intense flavour that’s stony, and shows modest bitters to finish, holding a super finish. Ooh – this will be delicious!
A rare white from Aloxe.
Actually, there’s a bit more aromatic energy to be found here – super intensity and more focused citrus. Despite an impression of both mango and passion fruit the wine’s still not overly tropical – love this vibrancy but still restraint – top wine!
2022 Corton-Charlemagne
Hmm – that’s a great breadth of aroma, nobly reductive today, too. Really panoramic flavour, growing in an intensity that grips the tongue – this is very excellent Corton-Charlemagne !!
Les 2022 reds:
2022 Bourgogne Rouge
Here the malo is not finished.
Hmm – super energy, making for a fabulously juicy finish – this could be a top Bourgogne!
2022 Pernand-Vergelesses
From 5 different plots but all in les Boutières.
The malo aroma is less overt here – perhaps as theres abut 20-30% whole-clusters used in the fermentation – this nose becoming broader and more floral with air. Wide, more depth but still intensity wrapped with a little tannin. I love that!
Starting with reduction but then the floral component grows. Good shapoe and there’s plenty of depth to these flavours too. Like all the previous wines, the clarity and intensity really sets these wines apart – bravo!
A hint of malo plus some direction to these aromas. Big in the mouth – wrapped with a grainless tannin – becoming ever more juicy. A powerful wine from 70-year-old vines. Top…
And a few bottled reds from 2021:
2021 Pernand-Vergelesses Les Boutières
More modest colour – but here’s a more roundness and sweetness of aromatic. Hmm – good scale, less sweetness after the 22s – but the finish is wide energetic and very delicious.
2021 Aloxe-Corton Les Citernes
Airy aromas padded with some attractive cooking herb – that’s a pretty nose. More incisive and showing a little of the structure here – but energtic and full of interest. More strict finishing today than the PV but more vibrant and complex too – give it 3 years! Still a lovely drop.
2021 Pommard 1er Les Charmots
The third year of a grape purchase contract.
More colour. The nose is forward, quite powerful and much more high-toned than the previous wines. Breadth, more fluid style with super concentration for the vintage – the high tones of the nose present in this wine’s flavour too – give it a couple of years to calm in your cellar but there’s nothing structurally that would cause you to wait. Very good wine – and the finish is already excellent!