The vine

• Plot /climat

  Charlemagne

• History

  It is said that Charlemagne gave in 775 a vast piece of vineyard on the Corton hill to the Canons of the Collegiate Church of Saulieu. The Corton-Charlemagne vineyards cover a total area of 34 hectares, spread across the communes of Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, and Ladoix-Serrigny.

• Soil

  Complex soil, clay-silty, sometimes sandy. The soil is sometimes thin, revealing the limestone banks to the surface.

• Our plot(s)

  91a 8 ca, planted between 1940 and 2015, located around 280 and 330 meters in altitude. The slope is between 10% and 20%. Our plots, facing southwest, are located on the "En Charlemagne" lieu-dit in the commune of Pernand-Vergelesses.

• Age of vines

  • Planting date Surface
  • 1940 13a
  • 1960 11.16a
  • 1965 25.57a
  • 1971 3.44a
  • 1988 10a
  • 1994 1.84a
  • 2007 15.24a

The wine

• Description

  100% Chardonnay from handpicked grapes, produced in oak casks.

• Taste

  With a beautiful and bright pale yellow color, this wine offers noble and complex aromas of white fruits and honey, complemented by a lightly spicy oak. After a powerful attack, the mouth is dynamic, round, and silky. A few minutes after opening, the aromatic bouquet expands and develops to reach its fullness.

• Serving temperature

  12/14°C. Recent vintages may be decanted to enhance the aroma.

The vintage

• March was sunny and budburst happened too early. 5th of April frost made big damages in Puligny. Flowering occurred lately, with wind and rain, many flower aborted, confirming a low yield vintage. Fortunately, summer was hot and dry, enhancing maturation and sugar concentration by the end of summer. Harvest started 13th of September. White wines are generous and fruit driven, but high acidity gives a good concentration and length. Red wines benefited from the hot summer with a complex bouquet and round tanins.