Description
The wine
Marsannay’s lieux-dits are not all the same. The village appellation covers a range of exposures and elevations — from the warmer, lower-lying sites near the village centre to the cooler upper slopes directly below the forest. La Montagne is at the top of that range. The name is simply descriptive — the mountain, the high ground — and the elevation shows in the wine’s character.
The upper slope position gives La Montagne a cooler microclimate than much of Marsannay, a later harvest, and a mineral freshness that the village wines below it don’t always achieve. The soils are thinner and stonier than the lower lieux-dits, with more limestone at the surface. La Montagne is among the Marsannay sites currently being evaluated for Premier Cru classification — alongside Le Chapitre and Clos du Roy — a recognition of what this specific part of the slope has been producing for decades.
Yann Charlopin handles it with the same approach he brings to every wine in the range: organic farming, hand-harvested, fully destemmed, cold maceration before fermentation with native yeasts, slow ageing on fine lees, no filtration.
Tasting notes
Bright ruby. Red cherry, raspberry, wild herbs, and a distinctive stony minerality on the nose — the elevation and thin limestone soils of the upper slope coming through clearly. The palate is precise and focused with fine-grained tannins, vibrant acidity, and a clean mineral finish that is more tense and energetic than the village Marsannay below it. A lieu-dit with something specific to say. Drink now through 2032.
Service: 16°C. Duck breast, roast chicken, lamb chops, aged soft cheeses, mushroom dishes.
2022 vintage note
2022 was a warm, generous vintage across the Côte de Nuits — excellent growing conditions producing wines of exceptional fruit clarity and smooth tannin structure. For an upper-slope, cool-sited lieu-dit like La Montagne, the vintage’s warmth adds fruit weight without sacrificing the mineral freshness that defines this site. More concentrated than in a cooler year — and built to develop over the next eight to ten years.
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.
