 Jean-Jacques and Gilles Corsin produce some of the most striking white wines offered at Moore Brothers. Jean-Jacques spends most of his time among their wonderful Chardonnay vines in Davayé, Fuissé, and St. Véran. Jean-Jacques is a kind giant of a man. At 6'4", his face and forearms are uniformly reddened by the vineyard sun. His brother Gilles is small and pale, with tiny eyes that seem to see everything at once. In contrast to Jean-Jacques' calm, Gilles seems to be permanently on edge. As the pre-eminent cellar master in southern Burgundy, Gilles' obsession with winemaking drives him to brilliance in the cellar-even as never seems to be content with his wines. Gilles took over his father's courtier business over 15 years ago, and he now splits his time between the family's cellars and his sourcing business. He works with Duboeuf, Jadot and Verget, tasting and consulting, and finally purchasing hundreds of barrels of Pouilly Fuisse on behalf of the négociants. There is no doubt that the tasting of so many wines from so many estates, uncovering so many flaws, makes Gilles' eyes dart. Our friend, Michel Paquet, another of our producers in Saint-Véran, says it best. "Gilles doesn't like my wines-but then again, he doesn't like his own wines. His palate is so fine-tuned that he magnifies the most minor flaws, making it almost impossible to simply enjoy what he's drinking." There is no recipe, as every vintage is different with different levels of natural sugar and acidity. He prefers one-year old barrels to new barrels, as the aged barrels don't obscure the purity of the Chardonnay. |
