Description
The wine
Sous Frétille is a Premier Cru in Pernand-Vergelesses, directly below the hill of Corton. Domaine Charlopin-Tissier farms 0.11 hectares of old Chardonnay vines there. The slope faces south-east and gets full sun only from midday, which keeps the site cooler. The soils are thin, stony clay and limestone.
Yann Charlopin farms organically. The grapes are destemmed, and fermentation starts naturally with native yeasts. The wine then ages 16 months on fine lees in 400-liter barrels, with a high proportion of new oak.
Yann trained with Jean-Marie Fourrier, and his father Philippe studied under Henri Jayer. The domaine is known for its reds, and this small white parcel is one of its most sought-after wines.
For an earlier vintage from this site, see our 2020 Sous Frétille.
Vineyard & vintage details
- Producer: Domaine Charlopin-Tissier
- Appellation: Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru AOC
- Climat: Sous Frétille
- Grape: 100% Chardonnay, old vines
- Parcel: 0.11 hectares, south-east facing
- Soil: Clay and limestone
- Farming: Organic
- Vinification: Destemmed, native yeasts
- Ageing: 16 months on fine lees, 400-liter barrels, high proportion of new oak
- Alcohol: 13%
- Vintage: 2023
2023 vintage note
2023 was a warm year in Burgundy with the largest crop on record. A heatwave in early September made picking dates important. Growers who managed their yields made white wines with the freshness to balance the richness of the year. Critics’ views of the whites vary, and the best combine ripeness with tension.
About Domain Charlopin-Tissier
Yann Charlopin and Justine Tissier founded Domaine Charlopin-Tissier in 2013 — building their range around the Marsannay vineyards of Justine’s family and a parcel acquired from the estate of David Clark in Morey-Saint-Denis. It was a modest beginning, but the foundation was anything but ordinary.
Yann grew up in his father Philippe Charlopin’s cellar — Philippe himself a student of Henri Jayer, the most influential winemaker of post-war Burgundy. Before striking out on his own, Yann studied in Beaune, worked in Tasmania, Sancerre, and Chablis, then returned to Burgundy to work alongside his father before seeking out Jean-Marie Fourrier as a second mentor. Two of the Côte de Nuits’ most demanding teachers. The influence shows.
The philosophy is clear and consistent across the range: organic farming throughout, hand-harvested and fully destemmed, cold maceration before fermentation with native yeasts, slow ageing on fine lees, bottled without filtration. No heavy oak, no manipulation. Each vineyard given space to say what it has to say.
The range spans from the Bourgogne Montre-Cul — a lieu-dit in Gevrey-Chambertin with a name that needs explaining and a quality that doesn’t — through the Marsannay village wines and lieux-dits (La Montagne, Le Chapitre, Les Longeroies, Clos du Roy) to Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Sous Frétille and Aloxe-Corton. The domaine is barely a decade old. The wines already appear on the lists of The French Laundry, Quince, SingleThread, Tour d’Argent, and Frenchie.
