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

• Year 2021 : down in history for frost. The frost which hit the French winelands was the worst ever experienced. Our domain was seriously struck with a yield equivalent to a third of a normal grape harvest. The frost early in April, slowed down the growth rate of the vine which took time to recover in addition to which the season was marked by frequent periods of rain , beneficial for the life of the vine but complicating the control of mildew and oidium. It was not an easy season to manage right up to harvest time as from 18 September when again spells of rain did not facilitate matters ; nevertheless, healthy grapes were selected after careful sortation on picking and before processing such that on monitoring the maturity of the wine , its equilibrium is surprisingly satisfactory. The white wines are crisp and mineral with many citrus aromas, long and full in the mouth to different degrees depending on the vineyard.