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LUCIE CORNU, EDITH CORNU,
PIERRE CORNU AND
EMMANUEL BOIREAU
Jurassic and are therefore older and the wines recall large, fleshy black cherries.
Conversely, in the Côte de Beaune part, the soils date from the Upper Jurassic and
the Pinot noir is more reminiscent of red fruits and more floral.
At the estate, everything is fermented as single vineyards – there are 14 tanks of
red wine. After blending, the family markets two Ladoix labels and one Aloxe-
Corton, along with a little Chorey-Lès-Beaune. Aloxe is better known than Ladoix
which, forty years ago, was sold in bulk as Côte de Beaune Village, or Ladoix Côte
de Beaune. However, thanks to the famous ‘terroiriste’ American importer Neal
Rosenthal, the Cornus began to produce ‘Ladoix’. Since then, the village has been
properly specified/identified and it has become their pride and joy. That’s because
since 1870, when a fire destroyed their great-great-grandfather’s house in Chorey-
Lès-Beaune and he moved to the village, Ladoix has been their home.
WINES FOR ‘HONEST DRINKERS’
The village level for Burgundy wines therefore resonates with ‘honest drinkers’
– a far cry from the snobbish drinkers who choose wines based on their
label – yet at the same time offers genuine quality linked to the region’s myriad
vineyard sites. We can only hope that in a globalised world, with a growing taste
for wine developing among new consumer countries, this is how things will stay
for many years to come, because it is the perfect epitome of Burgundy’s deeprooted
farming spirit.
SUMMER 2023 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE
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