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.
The 2020 vintage brought warmth and concentration to the Côte de Beaune — but at Sous Frétille’s elevated position on the ridge, the site’s natural coolness and the vines’ deep roots into limestone maintained the acidity that the wine needs. The result is a wine that is generous from the vintage and precise from the terroir.
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.
Tasting notes
Bright gold with a faint green hue. The nose opens with white peach, ripe pear, and a touch of exotic fruit, underscored by citrus blossom and a cool, chalky minerality that speaks clearly to the stony limestone terroir. On the palate, the 2020 vintage delivers generous body without sacrificing tension — there’s a creamy, lees-enriched texture that gives way to a long, clean, mineral finish with a hint of toasted almond. A wine of real presence and balance.
Service:
12–14°C. Butter-poached lobster, scallops, sole meunière, white fish in cream sauce, aged Comté.
2020 vintage note
2020 was a warm, generous vintage across the Côte de Beaune — excellent growing conditions producing wines of natural concentration and depth. For a Premier Cru site at elevation like Sous Frétille, the vintage adds richness and weight while the site’s limestone soils and natural coolness preserve the acidity and mineral tension that define this climat. Drink now through 2030.
Yann Charlopin founded Domaine Charlopin-Tissier in 2013 — son of Philippe Charlopin, mentored by Jean-Marie Fourrier. Organic farming, fully destemmed, cold maceration, no filtration. The wines appear on the lists of The French Laundry, Quince, SingleThread, and Les 110 de Taillevent in Paris.
