Description
The wine
From organically farmed vineyards high on the slopes above Pernand-Vergelesses, where thin, stony clay-limestone soils and a south-facing exposure push Chardonnay to exceptional concentration.
Sous Frétille sits directly across the ridge from Corton-Charlemagne — the greatest white Grand Cru in the Côte de Beaune. The classification difference between the two sites is historical rather than terroir-based. The elevation, the exposure, and the limestone soils are essentially the same.
In 2019, the consistently warm growing season produced Chardonnay of exceptional concentration and natural richness across the Côte de Beaune. For Sous Frétille at elevation, the site’s natural coolness was an asset — the stony limestone soils and the altitude preserved an acidity that the warmer, lower-lying sites couldn’t always maintain. The result is a wine of real depth and presence — more opulent than the 2020 but with the same underlying mineral precision.
Yann Charlopin handles the wine with the same approach he applies across the entire range: organic farming, hand-harvested, cold maceration, native yeasts, slow ageing on fine lees, no filtration.
The 2020 vintage is also available — a slightly leaner, more precise expression of the same site.
Tasting notes
Deep gold. The nose opens with ripe white peach, apricot, toasted almond, and a warm honeyed quality from the vintage’s natural richness. The palate has real presence and concentration — a creamy, full-bodied texture underpinned by the limestone minerality of the Sous Frétille terroir. The finish is long and persistent with a warmth that reflects 2019 without losing the precision of the site. Drinking beautifully now. Drink now through 2029.
Service: 12–14°C. Roast chicken with cream sauce, butter-poached lobster, scallops, turbot, aged Comté. Given the richness of the vintage, this wine holds its own alongside richer, more substantial dishes than the 2020.
2019 vintage note
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 Premier Cru Chardonnay at elevation, the warmth is a gift: the natural richness of the vintage fills the wine’s structure without requiring extraction or manipulation. At this stage the 2019 is at or approaching its peak — generous, complex, and complete.
