The hill of Corton looms at the heart of the Côte d’Or – signposting the start of the Côte de Beaune, as the region’s vineyards shift from Pinot Noir to Chardonnay. Sitting plump between the villages of Ladoix-Sérrigny, Aloxe-Corton and Pernand-Vergelesses, its mass marks a sudden switch from the straightforward geography of the Côte de Nuits.
North of Corton, the vineyards lie to the west of the D974 road, gradually (for the most part) changing from village to Premier and Grand Cru as you move upslope; but the hill of Corton’s eruption disturbs this order, leading to the more winding villages and vineyards of the Côte de Beaune.
With its forested quiff, the hill is striking. Around its top, just below the wooded area (the Bois de Corton), sweep its Grand Cru vineyards – Corton, Corton-Charlemagne and Charlemagne. There are a whopping 160 hectares of potential Grand Cru here, although only 72 can be white Corton-Charlemagne, just under 63 hectares of which are entitled to use the rarer Charlemagne. Its slopes are the source for over 72% Grand Cru white Burgundy. And yet, it is a site that is often overlooked.
The history of Corton-Charlemagne
Vines have been planted on the hill of Corton since at least 696 AD. Corton-Charlemagne takes its name from the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, who gave most of the hill to the Abbey of Saint-Andoche de Saulieu in 775 AD. He commanded the monks look at where the snow melted first and plant those areas with vines. Pinot Noir dominated the slopes at first, however legend suggests that white grapes were added after Charlemagne’s fourth wife, Luitgard, wanted a wine that wouldn’t stain her husband’s white beard.
As early as the 8th century, wine from the hill earnt acclaim. It was only in the 16th century, however, that the term “Corton” started being used to reference the wine. The Church lost control of the land during the French Revolution, when it was auctioned off to private owners. Red grapes remained dominant, although higher elevations had plantings of Aligoté, Pinot Beurot (the local name for Pinot Gris) and Pinot Blanc – with Chardonnay then planted in the wake of phylloxera. (The Charlemagne appellation even permitted the use of both Aligoté and Chardonnay until 1948.)
The Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée for the hill’s triumvirate of Grands Crus was established in 1937 (with a small section on the Pernand side added in 1942). At the time, in the wake of phylloxera and economic challenges, vast swathes of the hill remained unplanted – with only a third of the climat En Charlemagne vineyard at the point of classification. In 1966, 10 hectares were added to the Pernand side of Corton-Charlemagne – an act that remains controversial today. As Jasper Morris MW wrote in his book Inside Burgundy, “It is hard to see that this justifies grand cru status.” In 1978, parts of both Hautes and Basses Mourottes (on the far eastern edge of the appellation) were promoted to Grand Cru – and the boundaries of the hill’s Grands Crus have since been set.
The hill of Corton’s geography
Three valleys – or combes – surround the hill of Corton: the Echevronne valley provides the southern border, the Jeanin combe sits to the north and the Pernand-Vergelesses valley runs along the western side. It is crowned by the forest (the Bois de Corton) which provides a key cooling influence. The woods were sold for a huge sum of money to a private owner in 2017. There were concerns that they could be uprooted, replaced with vines or built over – although these were soon allayed with official protection for the woods, ensuring their continued influence over the site.
The hill and its Grands Crus are divided between three communes. To the east lies Ladoix with 22 hectares of Grand Cru, to the west Pernand-Vergelesses with 17 hectares, while the majority of the vineyards (120 hectares) fall under Aloxe-Corton, the village to the south of the hill.
All 160 hectares can be used to produce Corton Grand Cru, with 72 hectares permitted to produce Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (and 63 of those Charlemagne Grand Cru). If white is produced outside the Corton-Charlemagne/Charlemagne vineyards, it can be labelled as white Corton Grand Cru (such as at Jean-Marc & Hugues Pavelot) – however production of such wines is tiny (with less than four hectares dedicated to white Corton in 2022, for example).
The hill stretches up to 388 metres above sea-level, with vines up to 330m, the highest altitude for a Grand Cru in Burgundy (Chevalier-Montrachet, for example, sits between 265 and 290m, while Chambertin makes it up to 300m). The Grand Cru vines are spread over around 100m in altitude, with lower sites generally dedicated to Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay taking over on the site’s upper reaches. All the climats included in the Charlemagne or Corton-Charlemagne appellations are between 280 and 330m. The slopes here are steep too, making certain parcels impossible to mechanise, with a gradient of up to 25% (elsewhere in the Côte, Grand Cru sites are a gentle 5%).
It’s not just Corton/Corton-Charlemagne’s altitude that makes it stand out, however, for it is home to Burgundy’s only west-facing Grand Cru vines. The vineyards reach around three sides of the hill, all the way from Pernand to Ladoix, from west to east, offering vastly different aspects. The Corton forest holds cool air, while the surrounding valleys funnel winds, all influencing the site.
The soils on Corton are different too – not as uniform as elsewhere in the Côte. Over the Jurassic limestone lies a combination of chalky marl, clay and iron-red oolite. Mid-slope soils have deeper topsoil with higher portions of clay, and are visibly red with iron oxide, used for Pinot Noir. The sites at the top of the hill are chalky marl, higher in limestone, with very little topsoil in places, meaning the vines’ roots sit almost directly on the bedrock.
Size matters: Burgundy’s biggest Grand Cru
The sheer size of Corton Grand Cru makes it challenging: 160 hectares, divided into 26 climats, for both red and white, is huge in comparison to other Grands Crus. Even the Corton-Charlemagne subsection – covering 72 hectares – is larger than Burgundy’s second-biggest Grand Cru, Clos de Vougeot (just under 51 hectares), and more than double all the Montrachet Grands Crus combined.
Clos de Vougeot, likewise, suffers for its size – some arguing that lower, more clay-rich sections don’t deserve top classification. Ultimately, however, the high number of producers that work with the site and its wider availability are what make it less desirable – and it’s just the same with Corton-Charlemagne.
As Domaine de la Vougeraie’s Sylvie Poillot emphasised, there are a lot of owners in Corton-Charlemagne – far more than in Montrachet. Sixty producers own vines within Corton-Charlemagne and Charlemagne, and then there are those who lease vines or purchase fruit too – all producing different expressions of the site. Inevitably, quality and style varies – making it harder to build a clear image of the Cru. Franck Buisson (Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson) adds to this, arguing that the site’s reputation is compounded by its position in a section of the Côte otherwise dominated by Pinot Noir, as well as the number of négociants that own vines – as with Beaune or Nuits-Saint-Georges, areas he feels are similarly under-rated as a result.
“[Wine-lovers] want the rarity, they want the little clos, the monopole… but what I think makes Corton-Charlemagne a super Grand Cru is that it embraces several terroirs,” says Thibault Jacquet, General Manager at Domaine Bonneau du Martray. Bonneau du Martray is the largest owner of the site and – apart from a tiny volume of red Corton – only makes Corton-Charlemagne.
Biased they may be, but they also know this site more intimately than any other producer. Although each parcel is vinified separately, Bonneau du Martray broadly breaks the site down into top, middle and bottom sections: the top of the slope is lean, pure and tense (“very Chevalier-Montrachet” Jacquet says), the bottom offers more power and flesh (“a lot more like Bâtard”), while the midslope combines both power and tension (“You have Montrachet,” he says). Where else could you get the chance to theoretically blend the Montrachet Grands Crus? The blend is far greater than the sum of its parts, Jacquet argues, and gives them the tools to create the best wine possible whatever the vintage conditions. Poillot argues similarly that, by combining their two parcels – one in Le Charlemagne and the other in En Charlemagne, “You have everything in this wine,” she says.
“For sure, it’s big,” says Robin Rapet (Domaine Rapet) of Corton-Charlemagbne and, although it’s not like the other Burgundy Grands Crus – running from the bottom to the top of the hill, he argues that it is simply more diverse and complex. For him, the site’s relative youth for white wine has set it back. Long better known for its reds, it was slow to recover from phylloxera. Even in the early 1960s a significant swathe of Bonneau du Martray’s prized vineyard wasn’t planted. It’s only in the 1980s with the Chardonnay boom that the region’s whites took off. It is also a vineyard that has benefited from climate change – global warming helping the cooler site ripen fully more consistently. Indeed, unlike the Montrachet Grands Crus, Corton-Charlemagne rarely suffers from hydric stress, performing particularly well in hot, dry vintages. As Christophe Deola – Domaine Director for Louis Latour – notes: “It’s the white Grand Cru of the future.”
A multi-faceted terroir: the many sides of Corton-Charlemagne
As has already been touched on, Corton-Charlemagne sweeps around from east to west (even slightly northwest), offering a significant range of expositions – something that is unique among Burgundy’s Grands Crus. The south-facing slope is picked the earliest, while the cooler western slopes can be harvested up to two weeks later.
While the Montrachet Grands Crus are homogenous – east-facing, mid-slope and all contiguous; “Corton-Charlemagne is the exact opposite,” says Erwan Faiveley (of the eponymous Domaine Faiveley). For Frédéric Barnier of Louis Jadot, however, the site offers diversity – not inconsistency – a nuance that is important.
The eastern side of Corton, close to Ladoix-Sérrigny, echoes the exposure of Burgundy’s other Grands Crus, catching the morning sun. Bouchard, Faiveley and Domaine Leroy all have their parcels on this side, which accounts for less than a third of the Corton-Charlemagne vineyard area. Leroy’s 0.43-hectare parcel sits above Les Renardes, just below the forest. The site is the last Chardonnay picked at either Leroy or D’Auvenay, and one that Lalou Bize-Leroy describes as “un terroir à rouge” (a red terroir) – naturally rich, producing a wine of great “matière”. Faiveley’s plot sits directly above their famous Clos des Cortons Faiveley and he is in no doubt about its quality: “I truly think the greatest wine at the domaine is the Corton-Charlemagne.”
For Frédéric Weber, Technical Director at Bouchard, their four-hectare parcel has yellow marl topsoil, a maximum 80cm over the limestone bedrock. At the top of the slope, just below the forest, it’s the coolest section of Corton-Charlemagne, benefiting from the altitude and shaded by the trees from the evening sun. A northeastern wind blows through the site too, limiting disease pressure. While much Corton-Charlemagne is powerful and rich, the Bouchard expression is fresher and more elegant, a little more discreet in youth – and with distinctive salinity. As with Faiveley, their white parcel sits above their red, divided by a geological fault. Both within Le Corton, the upper section has more marl, while the lower section has more clay – the latter perfect for Pinot Noir.
Moving around the hill past Aloxe-Corton, the vineyards face south and bask in the sun’s warmth, generally producing the richest wines. Louis Latour owns 9.5 hectares of Corton-Charlemagne (and an additional half a hectare of Corton) here, facing south/southeast, spread across the climats of Le Charlemagne, Les Pougets and Les Languettes. Deola (Domaine Director for Louis Latour) argues that the exposition rather than shifts in soil or altitude are what define specific parcels, and south-facing plots are, for him, “what makes Charlemagne special”.
Similarly, Jadot’s 1.87-hectare parcel – part of the historic holdings (Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot) – is in Les Pougets. Its position, at the heart of the hill, south-facing, gives the juice a certain richness, Technical Director Frédéric Barnier tells me. The opulence found here is, he feels, unique to Corton-Charlemagne. Despite the ripeness, the roots dive deep into the limestone bedrock, retaining freshness – indeed, they pick here a full week later than in Puligny- and Chassagne-Montrachet, despite its sunny aspect.
As you go past Les Pougets you reach the climats of Le Charlemagne and En Charlemagne, stretching round to the western side of the hill, up above Pernand-Vergelesses. Wines made exclusively from these two climats can use the name Charlemagne – although only two producers currently use the right, Domaine de la Vougeraie (as of the 2013 vintage) and Domaine Bonneau du Martray (as of 2021). There are some who argue that the most western edge of the appellation, including the 10 hectares controversially added in the 1960s, don’t deserve Grand Cru status. Facing west, and even drifting northwest, unlike any other Grand Cru in Burgundy, these far reaches may once have struggled to ripen – but, with global warming, that has changed. As Jacquet at Bonneau du Martray told me: “Now they are thriving.”
Franck Buisson (Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson) works a tiny two-ouvrée site at the top of Le Charlemagne, one which is consistently among the last parcels they harvest. It often ripens at the same time as Saint-Romain, up to 10 days after their plot of red Corton, which is on the eastern side, in Le Rognet et Corton, below the Clos des Cortons Faiveley. Similarly at Domaine Rapet, Robin Rapet noted how there can be up to a week between the Aloxe-Corton and Pernand-Vergelesses side of their parcels in Corton-Charlemagne, from the western edge of En Charlemagne to the south of Les Pougets.
Charlemagne is little seen on labels, but Bonneau du Martray feels it’s a useful way to distinguish their position on the western side of the Grand Cru. For Jacquet, this subsection is “the genesis” of the Grand Cru – carrying Charlemagne’s name thanks to its long history. Although once undervalued, its microclimate is a boon with global warming, with winds funnelling through the valley from Pernand-Vergelesses to cool the site and bring welcome freshness today.
How producers handle Corton-Charlemagne in the winery
Universally among the last parcels to reach the winery, Corton-Charlemagne sees very different winemaking approaches. Almost everyone agrees that Corton-Charlemagne is slow to evolve. At Domaine Rapet, Robin Rapet explains how they have started using “tressage”, plaiting the shoots rather than trimming them, helps the wine be open in its youth – something that is particularly important for Corton-Charlemagne.
Several producers favour lower percentages of new oak (just 20% at Domaine de la Vougeraie), or no new oak at all (as at Patrick Javillier). The Buisson brothers have a specific barrel designed by Chassin for their Corton-Charlemagne, seasoned with their Saint-Romain and used at one or two years old, opting for a delicate touch of oak that complements the wine.
At Bouchard, Frédéric Weber feels the opposite – ageing the wine in 30% new oak, about twice as much as their other white Grands Crus. “It’s so powerful it can absorb that,” says Weber. It will also often spend significantly longer in oak – it is, he tells me, “a very deep wine, more a Cistercian wine”.
Bonneau du Martray has long been synonymous with the site – known for its hedonistic, rich wines, but since Stanley Kroenke (of Screaming Eagle) took over the property in 2017, the style has shifted. Today, the property looks to contain the site’s power, making “a wine with a lot of minerality, tension, electricity, purity”, Jacquet says. They consciously pick late, to bring flesh to the wine’s natural acidity, feeling phenolic maturity is more important than pH. They use around 20% new oak (down from 30% previously) and avoid bâtonnage, although they use longer barrels to maximise lees contact during élevage and build the wine’s texture, depth and power – while retaining its freshness. The wine spends its first year mostly in oak, with 20% in a selection of alternative vessels (amphora, cement and stainless steel), then spending a second year, blended, mostly in stainless steel with a third in other vessels.
Corton-Charlemagne in the glass
“You feel immediately it comes from a different location,” says Frédéric Barnier of Corton-Charlemagne versus Burgundy’s other white Grands Crus. Bouchard’s Frédéric Weber describes Montrachet as a “monolith” – powerful from the start to finish, while Corton-Charlemagne opens powerfully and tapers to a point – a long, refined, saline finish. It is, he feels, the only wine that can follow Montrachet – a common refrain among producers. Christophe Deola describes Louis Latour’s Corton-Charlemagne as leaner, less muscly and more austere than Montrachet. Montrachet shines in its youth, always open, but Corton-Charlemagne needs time. Robin Rapet suggests it is perhaps closest to Chablis’s Les Clos – which also combines minerality with a sunny aspect; Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Sous Frétille is, however, a baby Corton-Charlemagne in his eyes, offering a similar structure and evolution over five to 10 years. For Franck Buisson, it is the natural structure, dry extract and “thickness” of Corton-Charlemagne that is unique, the wine’s natural power and richness tempered by a freshness which he attributes, at least in part, to biodynamic farming. Every producer I spoke to attests to Corton-Charlemagne’s ageability – as Buisson noted, it is a wine which needs to shake off “the insolence of youth”. Few recommend approaching the Grand Cru before 10 years of age, while several say it’s best after 15 – and that patience will be richly rewarded. “At 15 to 20 years, that is where you get into the sublayers of the wine, really the terroir expressing itself,” says Bonneau du Martray’s Jacquet. Rapet notes how 15 to 25 years after the vintage their Corton-Charlemagne will combine the site’s freshness with tertiary aromas of white truffle, smoked almond and honey, and will continue to evolve beautifully over 40 years: “It has incredibly facility to age,” he says. Erwan Faiveley says it may be the longest-lived of the wines his family produces.
Reassessing Corton-Charlemagne
The size of Corton-Charlemagne may hold the site’s prestige back, but the quality and potential of wines from this Grand Cru are not in doubt. As with any Burgundy, much comes down to the individual producer – but, especially with climate change, Corton-Charlemagne may just muscle its way out of the shadows.
A crib-sheet to the hill of Corton’s white wines
Corton-Charlemagne:
71.43ha qualify for the Corton-Charlemagne appellation
The appellation covers the villages of Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton and Ladoix-Sérrigny
The appellation covers the following climats:
En Charlemagne (17.26ha)
Le Charlemagne (16.95ha)
Les Pougets (9.82ha)
Les Languettes (7.24ha)
Le Corton (11.67ha)
Les Renardes (14.35ha)
Le Rognet et Corton (part of – 3.18ha)
Basses Mourottes (0.95ha)
Hautes Mourottes (1.93ha)
The label can’t specify a climat or lieu-dit
59.77ha were in production in 2022
Pinot Noir grown within this area can be labelled as Corton Grand Cru
Charlemagne:
62.94ha qualify for the Charlemagne appellation
The appellation covers the villages of Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton
The appellation covers the following climats:
En Charlemagne (17.26ha)
Le Charlemagne (16.95ha)
Les Pougets (9.82ha)
Les Languettes (7.24ha)
Le Corton (11.67ha)
Only 6.13ha were in production in 2023
Today only Domaine de la Vougeraie and Bonneau du Martray use the appellation (Chandon de Briailles used to produce a Charlemagne, until 2008)
Corton:
Any other part of the Corton Grand Cru planted with Chardonnay can be labelled as Corton Blanc, however this is rarely used
Only 3.95ha were in production in 2022
The best Corton-Charlemagne, Charlemagne and Corton Blanc wines:
Henri Boillot: Boillot doesn’t own any vines in Corton-Charlemagne, but the property picks the fruit itself. The exact parcels vary according to vintage, however it is always a star of the line-up – and features in Allen Meadows’ top three Corton-Charlemagne bottlings year in, year out.
Domaine Bonneau du Martray: Long owned by the Le Bault de Morinière family, Stanley Kroenke – of Screaming Eagle fame – bought a majority share of the business in 2017. The property used to be known for its opulent style but this has been reined in under new ownership, with the wine bottled as Charlemagne from the 2021 vintage. The property is the largest owner of Corton-Charlemagne with 11 hectares, but leases three to DRC (see below).
Bouchard Père & Fils: Bouchard has owned this four-hectare slice of Corton-Charlemagne since 1909. Sitting at the top of the hill, above their red Corton, the east-facing parcel is cool and low-yielding with very little topsoil.
Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson: Franck and Frédéric Buisson work half a hectare of 75-year-old vines in Le Charlemagne.
Domaine Coche-Dury: Coche-Dury had one 0.33-hectare parcel of Le Charlemagne, but additional purchases in 2012 brought the total to 0.88 hectares, all in Le Charlemagne.
Domaine Faiveley: Faiveley’s Corton-Charlemagne vines cover 0.87 hectares, just above their Clos des Cortons Faiveley.
Domaine des Hospices de Beaune: The Hospices owns two parcels in Corton-Charlemagne: one in Le Charlemagne which produces Cuvée François de Salins and one in Les Renardes (Cuvée Roi Soleil). They also make two white bottlings of Corton (Corton Blanc Cuvée Docteur Peste and Corton-Vergennes Cuvée Paul Chanson).
Louis Jadot: A 1.88-hectare parcel that is part of Jadot’s historical holdings, Domaine des Héritiers Jadot, His midslope in Les Pougets.
Maison Louis Latour: The second largest owner of Corton-Charlemagne, Louis Latour has 10.5 hectares of vines, largely on the southern side of the hill.
Domaine Leroy: Lalou Bize-Leroy purchased this parcel in 1989, with the first vintage made in 1990 – the first white for Domaine Leroy. The small, 0.43-hectare parcel is in Le Corton, a terroir better known for its reds. The wine is made in exactly the same way as the Domaine d’Auvenay whites, with typically low yields producing between three and five barrels each vintage.
Millemann: The famous winemaking consultant who since 2017 has had his own négociant project, Pierre Millemann makes a 500-litre barrel of Corton-Charlemagne each vintage, the only white he produces.
Domaine Jean-Marc & Hugues Pavelot: One of the few white Corton bottlings, Pavelot makes only a handful of cases from their 0.08-hecatre plot in Les Chaumes, at the bottom of the Grand Cru – and it’s long been a FINE+RARE favourite.
Alvina Pernot: Another bottling of Corton-Charlemagne that hits Alvina Pernot works with a small parcel of vines on the Pernand-Vergelesses side of the appellation, making a consistently impressive expression of the site.
Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet: Since 2020, iconic Chassagne-Montrachet producer Jean-Claude Ramonet has been producing two négociant bottlings of Corton-Charlemagne – one of which is for members’ club FICOFI.
Domaine Rapet: Rapet has just over three hectares, the vast majority of which is in En Charlemagne, the remainder in Le Charlemagne.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti: From the 2019 vintage, Aubert de Villaine started making a Corton-Charlemagne, leasing parcels from Bonneau du Martray. They work with five parcels in Le Charlemagne and En Charlemagne, totalling just under three hectares.
Domaine Georges Roumier: From a 0.2-hectare parcel on the Pernand-Vergelesses side, the Roumier family has made a Corton-Charlemagne since 1968 – the only white the domaine produces.
Domaine de la Vougeraie: One of the only properties to label their wine as Charlemagne (from the 2013 vintage), Domaine de la Vougeraie’s wine comes from two parcels – one in Le Charlemagne and one in En Charlemagne, totalling a little less than half a hectare.
Explore all current listings of Corton-Charlemagne, Charlemagne and white Corton – or read more about Burgundy.
