Domaine Follin-Arbelet Clos du Chapitre Premier Cru Aloxe-Corton (2013) 750 ML

Burgundian-born Frank Follin-Arbelet worked the vines of his father-in-law, André Masson (once the régisseur at the Hospices de Beaune), and now directs that estate in Aloxe-Corton. Pedigreed land such as this demands much of its stewards, and these vines are farmed sustainably without synthetic fertilizers or weed killers, working the soils regularly to aerate them and keep them healthy. Theirs are the deepest cellars in the village, colder and more humid than most, two key components in crafting age-worthy wines. Vinifications are in the old-school style, fermenting slowly in open-top wooden vats, using only indigenous yeasts, and the wines are bottled in all of their unadulterated glory, unfined and unfiltered. Both pure and intense, they are deep with stony freshness, explosive with bright fruit, and framed with balanced structure. Kermit Lynch portfolio. Jancis Robinson: Bright cherry-crimson. Interesting vegetation/autumnal nose. Very charming and round on the palate with the tannins well hidden under bounteous fruit. 17/20