Comte Senard is one of the historic names of Aloxe-Corton, with the family estate dating back to 1857 and holdings across some of the finest Grand Cru vineyards on the hill of Corton. Les Paulands is one of the domaine’s best wines, a Grand Cru that naturally produces a powerful, structured, and somewhat rustic style, yet with bottle age it can develop remarkable elegance and complexity. The 2011 vintage has aged particularly well at the top level, and the Côte de Beaune produced beautifully aromatic reds with ripe fruit, smooth tannins and a more transparent, classical personality than many of the richer vintages that followed. Now with 15 years of age, the Les Paulands is entering an excellent drinking window, showing red and black cherry, dried flowers and wild berries layered with earth, leather, spice and wet stone, while the once-firm Corton structure has softened into a more velvety and harmonious texture. There is still plenty of freshness and mineral backbone carrying the wine through the long, savory finish. Mature Grand Cru Burgundy at this stage is increasingly difficult to find at reasonable pricing, and the 2011 Les Paulands is an excellent opportunity to experience properly aged Corton from one of Aloxe-Corton’s longstanding family domaines at pricing we rarely see anymore.

Burghound 91 pts! A beautifully fresh, cool and quite airy nose of beautifully layered aromas of wild red berries, humus, cassis and distinct floral notes. This is also relatively supple on the mid-palate with the same lovely sense of underlying tension to the medium-bodied flavors that are also supported by fine-grained tannins before culminating in slightly more persistent finish. There is also a touch of austerity present on the firmer finish and this will require at least a decade of cellar time to realize its full potential. (Drink starting 2021)