Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru 'La Coutière', Domaine Henri Magnien, 2024
Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru 'La Coutière', Domaine Henri Magnien, 2024
- 75cl
- 13%
- Red Still
- Pinot Noir
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Optimal drinking window: 2028 - 2038
"Silky red berry fruit opens the palate, layered with subtle hints of earth and spice. Firm, structured tannins give grip without overpowering, while a bright, persistent finish makes this both approachable now and built to age gracefully."
Stewart Pryce, Honest Grapes Wine Club Manager
Domaine Henri Magnien continues to prove why Charles Magnien is firmly established as one of Gevrey-Chambertin’s rising stars. The 2024 vintage is a clear success here, with exceptional definition between cuvées and a masterclass in terroir expression. This is Magnien firing on all cylinders, with wines that reward both immediate enjoyment and long-term patience.
Aloxe-Corton sits at the southern foot of the Corton hill, and 'La Coutière' is one of its more quietly compelling premiers crus — tucked between the grands crus above and the village appellations below, producing reds with a distinctly firmer, more mineral character than the softer Pinot Noirs of the Côte de Beaune further south.
What the critics say:
"Here too there is just enough wood to notice surrounding the cool red berry aromas laced with hints of forest floor and humus-tinged earth. There is again a lovely texture to the slightly denser flavors that tighten up on the youthfully austere, firm and lingering finale. This could use better depth so a few years of aging is suggested."
La Coutière sits on the middle slopes of the Corton hill, where the soils shift from the iron-rich red marl and limestone rubble that define the grands crus to a slightly more clay-influenced mix lower down. This gives the wine a firmer structure and a cooler, more mineral quality than the generous, fruit-forward style sometimes associated with Aloxe-Corton. The elevation provides good drainage and meaningful temperature variation between day and night, which is clearly audible in the wine's natural acidity and tight focus.
Aloxe-Corton is the northernmost village appellation of the Côte de Beaune, most famous for sharing the Corton hill with Pernand-Vergelesses and Ladoix-Serrigny — home to Corton grand cru (red) and Corton-Charlemagne grand cru (white). The village premiers crus sit beneath the grands crus on the hill's flanks, and while they lack the sheer weight of a Corton, the best deliver a distinctive combination of red fruit, iron minerality, and firm tannin that sets them apart from the more silky styles of Beaune or Volnay. Aloxe-Corton reds can sometimes feel austere in youth, which is a feature rather than a flaw in the right hands.
The 2024 growing season in Burgundy was, frankly, a test of nerve. A wet spring brought significant mildew pressure, and vignerons who stayed sharp in the vineyard — working fast, keeping canopies open, reducing yields where necessary — came out the other side with something worth talking about. Summer brought warmer, drier conditions that helped the fruit recover composure, and harvest arrived broadly on the later side, with growers picking carefully to find phenolic ripeness without sacrificing freshness. Quantity was down across much of the Côte, which concentrates minds as much as it concentrates wine.
What emerged is a vintage that rewards those who put the work in. The Pinots we have tasted carry real precision and translucency — not because they are light, but because the acidity is lively and the fruit unforced. Chardonnays from the Côte de Beaune look particularly promising: taut, mineral, with genuine length. This is not a vintage to panic-open. Most village and premier cru reds want three to five years at minimum, with the better appellations drinking well until 2035 and beyond. The whites are more approachable now, though the best will reward patience too.
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