Charles Lachaux

CHARLES LACHAUX A NEW NEGOCIANT PROJECT 2018 VINTAGE EXCLUSIVE TO CORNEY & BARROW IN THE UK

CHARLES LACHAUX 2018 VINTAGE

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INDEPENDENT WINE MERCHANT SINCE 1780

“The goal is to make wines of enjoyment, freshness and elegance.”

CHARLES LACHAUX

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CHARLES LACHAUX 2018 VINTAGE

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To find out more about Corney & Barrow visit www.corneyandbarrow.com

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INDEPENDENT WINE MERCHANT SINCE 1780

CHARLES LACHAUX Since the 2016 vintage, we have represented Charles Lachaux’s Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux in the UK. When Charles told us he was starting a small-volume négociant label under his own name, we jumped at the opportunity to be involved.

Charles is fast making a name for himself in Burgundy.

Mentored by Lalou Bize-Leroy and described by Jancis Robinson as "a bright new star", he embodies the new generation.

He is an advocate of high density planting, low yields and intensive vineyard work, which includes training his vines into long ‘arches’ rather than pruning their shoots.

Although the majority of these wines are made from bought-in grapes, the Bourgogne Aligoté Les Champs d'Argent is owned by Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux.

Unsurprisingly therefore, it gets the full treatment and is a stunning wine as a result.

Quantities are tiny across the board. Charles has made twelve barrels of Aligoté, seven barrels of Bourgogne Rouge La Croix Blanche and just three barrels of each of Pommard Auprès du Clos, Gevrey-Chambertin En Reniard and Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots.

Charles’ wife Louise Lachaux-Voarick designed the evocatively delicate labels, very much in tune with the perfumed, elegant style of these wines.

We are thrilled to be offering these wines in their very first vintage.

GUY SEDDON November 2019

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CHARLES LACHAUX 2018 VINTAGE

THE WINES Five wines have been made in this first vintage.

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The sole white in the line-up is the Bourgogne Aligoté Les Champs d'Argent. Charles says this parcel in VosneRomanée has belonged to Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux “forever”, although until now the grapes have been sold.

The vine ‘arching’ which Charles practices elsewhere in the estate has, as he explains it, resulted in a low yield and brought a certain fleshiness to the Aligoté.

The reds are 100% whole cluster, aged in used oak barrels.

As Charles says, “the goal is to make wines of enjoyment, freshness and elegance”.

The first of the reds is Bourgogne Rouge La Croix Blanche – a slightly confusing name (red/white…), but this is definitely a red wine! It comes from 1.2 hectares of vines in VosneRomanée, worked by a young vigneron who Charles advises closely. Everything is trimmed and ploughed by hand.

The two village cuvées come from opposite ends of the Côte, from two of its more structured villages. Pommard Auprès du Clos is made from organic, old vines, close to the Château de Pommard. Gevrey-Chambertin En Reniard comes from the lower slopes of Gevrey, near the Route Nationale, a parcel with very light soils and grapes prone to millerandage, making for high skin content and so wines of rich phenolic matter.

Finally, the premier cru, Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots – a majestic Volnay vineyard… This one comes from the upper slope, just beside Santenots du Milieu, the richest and grandest part. It is from organically grown fruit and old vines, which also tend to produce small millerand grapes.

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INDEPENDENT WINE MERCHANT SINCE 1780

Tasting Guide Our tasting notes provide full details but, at your request, we have also introduced a clear and simple marking system. We hope these guidelines assist you in your selection. For the benefit of simplicity, wines are scored out of 20. We will often use a range of scores (e.g. 16.5 to 17) to indicate the potential to achieve a higher mark. When a ‘+’ is shown it adds further to that potential. Wines from lesser vintages will, inevitably, show a lower overall score.

Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine. A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.

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CHARLES LACHAUX 2018 VINTAGE

TASTING NOTES

By Adam Brett-Smith

BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ LES CHAMPS D'ARGENT

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This is about as brilliant as an old vine Aligoté (30-80 years old) can get. Yellow-green in colour. The nose combines a rich, creamy almost leesy perfume with that characteristic Aligoté zest. The zestiness continues on the palate which is full, subtly rich in flavour with a delicately supple and yet taut finish. Ridiculously good.

360 cases made.

Corney & Barrow Score 17 - 18 Recommended drinking from 2020 – 2024 £215/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

BOURGOGNE ROUGE LA CROIX BLANCHE Firm ruby colour. The nose is sweetly red-fruited, pungent, startling in its freshness and purity. On the palate this wine is astonishingly flavoury, nicely rich with sappy, juicy fruits and real length. Not sure I’ve ever tasted a ‘simple’ Bourgogne Rouge quite like this.

Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 Recommended drinking from 2020 – 2025 £145/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

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INDEPENDENT WINE MERCHANT SINCE 1780

POMMARD VILLAGE AUPRÈS DU CLOS

VOLNAY 1ER CRU LES SANTENOTS

Auprès du Clos is on the Volnay side and literally against the walls of Château de Pommard. Firm ruby. The nose is creamily fruited with hints of coffee and toffee, really quite seductive. The palate is pure Pommard, with a firm structure but with sweet fruits behind and a surprisingly subtle finish of good length.

Limpid ruby colour. The nose shows lacy, silken red fruits, supple and sweet but with an almost atmospheric subtlety. The palate is also silken, insinuatingly structured but cloaked in super ripe, juicy fruit, with almost perfect balance and fine length. This is a very, very good wine.

Corney & Barrow Score 17 Recommended drinking from 2021 – 2025+

Corney & Barrow Score 18 Recommended drinking from 2022 – 2027+ £475/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

£325/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN EN RENIARD En Reniard lies on the Morey St Denis side of the village and east of both Charmes and Champs Chenys, and Charles has a tiny plot which makes just three casks…

Firm ruby colour. Briary but arterially bright dark red fruits on the nose, very, very pure, almost cocktailed.

The hallmark of the vintage – its juiciness – is beautifully deployed, swiftly followed by chewily dense, savoury, meaty flavours of super fine extraction and finer length.

This wine dances rather well.

Corney & Barrow Score 17 - 18 Recommended drinking from 2021 – 2026+ £350/CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK

To Order LONDON

020 7265 2430 EDINBURGH

01875 321 921 sales@corneyandbarrow.com PLEASE NOTE These wines are released en primeur. Delivery dates to be confirmed. All prices are quoted in bond UK.

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CHARLES LACHAUX 2018 VINTAGE

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To find out more about Corney & Barrow visit www.corneyandbarrow.com

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INDEPENDENT WINE MERCHANT SINCE 1780

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