Description
The wine
Le Chapitre is a lieu-dit on the upper slope of Marsannay — the name referring to the chapter house of the Cistercian monks of Cîteaux who farmed this land for centuries before the Revolution. The plot sits on well-drained, stony clay-limestone soils facing east-southeast, producing Pinot Noir of real site-specificity and structure. It is among the Marsannay lieux-dits currently being evaluated for Premier Cru classification — a recognition long overdue.
A magnum is not simply a larger bottle. It ages more slowly and more gracefully than a 750ml — the ratio of wine to oxygen exposure through the cork is lower, which means the wine develops over a longer arc and arrives at its peak in better condition. For a site like Le Chapitre in a vintage like 2019, the magnum is the optimal format.
2019 was one of the warmest growing seasons in recent Burgundy memory — consistently hot from flowering through harvest, producing wines of exceptional concentration and natural richness. For a well-drained, upper-slope lieu-dit like Le Chapitre, the warmth is an asset: the natural richness fills the wine’s structure without requiring extraction or manipulation. At six years from vintage the 2019 is at or approaching its peak in magnum format — generous, complex, and built to develop further through 2032.
Yann Charlopin applies the same approach here as across the entire range: organic farming, hand-harvested, fully destemmed, cold maceration before fermentation with native yeasts, slow ageing on fine lees, no filtration. The distinctive wax capsule — a Charlopin-Tissier signature — applied by hand.
Six magnums available.
Tasting notes
Deep ruby with garnet edges developing at six years of age. Red cherry, blackcurrant, a hint of warm spice and dried herbs on the nose — with a complexity from the 2019 vintage’s natural concentration that the younger 750ml doesn’t yet show. The palate is structured and generous — fine-grained tannins, excellent depth of fruit, and a long mineral finish that reflects the stony clay-limestone soils of Le Chapitre. Drinking beautifully now. Decant for an hour. Drink now through 2032.
Service: 16°C after decanting. Beef in sauce, roast lamb, duck confit, aged hard cheeses, game birds.
2019 vintage note
2019 produced exceptionally ripe and concentrated Pinot Noir across the Côte de Nuits — one of the warmest recent vintages, with natural fruit weight and smooth tannin structure. In magnum format, the 2019 Le Chapitre has had six years to integrate and develop complexity while retaining the freshness and mineral tension of the site. At this stage it is the most rewarding format in which to encounter this wine.
