Agree with those who say it requires long aging, but isn’t coarsely tannic. Catch it in its youth while it is open, or drink at 30+ years.
On my first trip to burgundy in the mid 90s, I found a reasonably priced bottling of 1947 Corton Bressandes. Bought a few to take home, and I’ve been sold on it ever since. Have a bunch in the cellar, the youngest is 2002. Well, except for a few bottles of Briailles Bressandes 2009 that I saw at a price I couldn’t resist.
While Corton might be the least expensive GC there are 2 issues to consider:
not all of the hill, maybe not even half is really GC quality,
and I’ve never had a really satisfying Corton with less than 20 years of age, often not less than 25y
If I were looking for villages level or premier cru Burgundies that can taste good at a relatively young age, I would look to Morey St. Denis and Chambolle Musigny. Of recent vintages, if you want something really young (remember drinking wine this young means you are missing out on what makes Burgundy special), I would be drinking 2007s. I have found several villages level or premier cru Burgs from 2012 drinking well lately and a number of 2007s are ready to drink (some 2008s are as well, but this is mixed). Really excellent vintages for drinking now include 1999, 2001 and 2002. 2010 is a truly great vintage and some are drinking with pleasure now, but most need more time to truly show their stuff.
A 30-40 year aging curve always struck me as unrealistic and a problem with a wine. The implication would be that you have to stop buying new releases by your early 40s. I don’t think winemakers produce for that or markets work like that. I get that wines can work like that but it’s a problem when they do. I have had some very good 2005 and 2009 Bouchard Corton that were really excellent (if not showing the full aged complexity they will) at 10 years old. Burgundy aging is weird. Have also had some 2010 Jadot Pougets that was locked down super tight but I will try it again between 2025-2030.
Speaking of Bouchard, what do people think of their red Corton? It was one of my first loves in Burgundy and they have done a better job than most in holding back price inflation. It is never really touted as a fashionable wine but I’ve always found it excellent.
P.S. People saying Lambrays is an “affordable” grand cru like Corton should be aware that Clos Des Lambrays is at least two times the price of most good Corton reds. Like $250-300 a bottle vs $100-125. Faiveley Clos Des Cortons and maybe the Briailles Roi are the only (non-DRC) Cortons that get into the $150-200 range and then only in good vintages. Back in the day good Corton reds were more like $70-100 a bottle, but they have been exploring what pricing they can get.
I too really enjoy Bouchard’s Corton. it does indeed fly under the radar, despite receiving consistently glowing reviews from Meadows among others.
I also don’t get the statements that Lambrays is “affordable.” It once was, and you can still occasionally find back-vintage steals, but I no longer put it in the affordable bucket. The only arguably “affordable” GCs anymore are Corton, plus certain of the hyphenated Chambertins, plus certain Clos de Vougeot, and even then usually from the negociants.
In terms of stratospherically priced Corton, there’s also Leroy/Coche/Bonneau du Martray. Montille can also get up into the $150+ range.
FWIW, the DRC Corton – while obviously outside the scope of the initial inquiry – is really top-quality. In no way is it categorically “lesser” than DRC’s other wines.
I paid $33 for my first bottle of 1998 Corton Bressandes in 2005. Man I miss those days. I do think Lambrays is still a value…but I wouldn’t call it affordable. There are some less expensive bottles from other Grand Cru but Corton is really special after 30+ years. I would suggest getting a few bottles for later in life, but I would focus on wines you’re enjoying and likely to enjoy sooner that will still give you the aged burg experience. I would also connect with other wine lovers in the hopes that you can have that through a shared experience.
Shhhh, let’s not say that too loud. People might notice.
Facetiousness aside, I’m a fan as well, great price point and they deliver. One of my first Burgs was a Bouchard and it turned my head immediately.
Wow- thanks everyone for the great replies! I ended up pulling the trigger on a couple of lots at very good price - both had sparse but decent reviews and if nothing else will be a good learning experience. I’ll try and hide one to save for 2039 
3x 2009 Maison Champy Corton
2x 2009 Gaston & Pierre Ravaut Corton Les Hautes Mourottes
I completely disagree. There is no market power in wine. There are wines available for people who want to drink them young, middle aged, old, etc. There are jug wines that sell for next to nothing, there are wines that sell for thousands of dollars. If a producer wants to make wines with a 30-40 year life and he has customers who want to buy them, then why is this a “problem with the wine.” You do not have to buy these wines by your early 40s. You can get them older on the secondary market.
If you don’t want to buy and hold a wine for 30-40 years, don’t buy these types of wines. I am currently 65. I haven’t purchased a new release 1st growth Bordeaux and other Bordeaux that need long aging in a very long time. I stopped buying things like young Corton and Bonnes Mares a long time ago. I don’t buy young Barolo anymore that will need to a very long time to mature. I have stopped buying new vintages of Ridge Monte Bello and Chateau Montelena. I bought these types of wines for a number of years. Why would I complain now that the wines are being made in a style that require long aging. I just am not the target audience for these wines anymore. So, I DON’T BUY THEM.
The problem is with people who somehow want a wine to be something other than what it is. That want all wines to be all things for all people. I don’t have any problem with the OP or others who had the question of whether they should buy Corton. To the contrary, I applaud them. They asked before they bought - exactly the right thing to do. More people should ask question like this before buying things they don’t know enough about.
I very highly recommend that YOU not buy wines that need 30-40 years of aging because that apparently is not what YOU want. Why do you want to make the choices for other people? There is no problem with these wines, just with people who buy them without knowing what they are buying.
Best of luck with it, Dan. I’m not sure that I would have chosen those particular wines–the price may have been great for a reason. You may want to also grab a bottle or two of wines mentioned above–the Faively, Bouchard, Jadot, or Briailles in case the ones you bought underwhelm you.
Circling back on this - I opened a bottle of the 2009 Maison Champy Corton this past weekend and I was pleasantly surprised. It had that typical Burgundy feel to it, good fruit and earthiness and some additional depth I haven’t found in most wines at this price point. Maybe I opened too young given the prior comments, or maybe the 2009 is more accessible than most, but all in all for a sub $50 purchase I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Now I have my eye on some 1996 Tollot-Beaut Corton Bressandes which I expect to be a further step up. Down the rabbit hole I go!
Dan
Yup, I believe he makes a Corton-Greves and a Corton-La Vigne au Saint.
I’ve also had a great 2015 Domaine Genot-Boulanger Aloxe-Corton 1er Clos du Chapitre (part of Les Meix) which is a site just downslope from the GCs.
Yes, both are very fine, imo.
That must be nice in a vintage like '15!
I have had plenty of pleasant experiences with young Corton from riper vintages. I suspect that the ripeness masks all of the sternness lurking underneath that makes Corton a very ageworthy red. 2009 is absolutely a great choice to dabble for drinkable examples. Will you be missing some future profundity? Maybe. Will you care? That’s up to you. I bought the Bouchard Corton and Michel Gay Corton-Renardes in 2009 because the price was so compelling and I wanted to see if the vintage could allow for early access. So far, so good and I have bottles to possibly carry into full maturity. I’m enjoying the exercise even if I am trading future potential for present enjoyment.
Cheers,
fred
As part of his 67 Pall Mall series, Jasper Morris recently did a video on just this subject, which terroirs and makers to look for in Corton. Highly recommended.
https://www.67pallmall.com/virtual-events/
Hi Brady,
Wow - this is really great! Thanks so much.
First,
Welcome to the forum, I hope you will be sharing more in the future. I think of Corton as my long-aging Burgundy. They can be really special once they’re 30+ years and rather ho-hum in the 7-25ish age range. As for the 2009 vintage, it was warm. Sometimes that can change how wines age.
Brady, another thank you. This was great to watch, even if I wasn’t tasting anything at the time.
Jasper is great. What is this part of? His magazine?
+1 on Corton really needing a lot of time. I have several from 96/99/01/02/05, and won’t be opening any of those for a while, I suspect.
My oldest Corton is a 93 Merode Marechaude. I keep waiting and waiting…