Domaine Chandon de Briailles 'Les Vergelesses' Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru AOC France

This is the estate's soul wine — and the 2020 vintage gives it muscle without drowning its nuance. The nose is savoury before it is pretty: wild cherry, redcurrant, cranberry, crushed blackberry, and raw beetroot earthiness. Then come violets, crushed thyme, iron-tinged minerality and a touch of clove and pepper. No flashy oak — Chandon de Briailles barely lets wood speak above a whisper.

On the palate, the wine is tightly structured: high-toned red fruit, salinity, chalky grip and fine yet assertive tannins. Finish is long, mineral, savoury, and promising — Corton attitude at a saner price.

Open from 2026 | Best: 2028–2040 | Peak: 2032+

Domaine Chandon de Briailles has been in the de Nicolay family since 1834, and today siblings Claude and François de Nicolay run one of the Côte de Beaune's most quietly revered estates. Claude converted the domaine to certified biodynamic viticulture (Demeter, 2011) with a strict no-additions approach in cellar and vineyard alike — no exogenous yeasts, no fining, no new oak to speak of. The result is Burgundy in its most classical and honest form: terroir-driven, age-worthy, and consistently featured on JancisRobinson.com and in the Wine Advocate. Critics have described the domaine as 'one of the very finest to be found anywhere in the Côte d'Or', producing wines that reward patience and repay attention in the glass.

Critics & Recognition

★ 92–94 pts — Wine Advocate (Corton Grand Cru) | Featured on JancisRobinson.com | On the wine list at La Table de Yoann Conte, France — a two-Michelin-starred restaurant — and Gramercy Tavern, New York