Philippe Charlopin comes from humble beginnings; the son of a vigneron who rented, not owned, his vines and started out himself as a vigneron-ouvrier in 1977. Philippe then purchased his first vines in Gevrey in 1978. This was followed by his purchase of a tiny parcel of Clos St. Denis in 1983. In those early days Philippe was a student (“listener”) and friend of Henry Jayer, which has shaped his winemaking philosophy. Then he kept purchasing vineyards over his whole career. In 2004, his son Yann joined him, and because of Yann’s passion for making white wines they purchased 5 hectares of vines in Chablis, 2 hectares in Pernand-Vergelesses and a small parcel of Corton-Charlemagne. Today the domaine encompasses 25 hectares of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines, with 36 different appellations divided into 140 parcels. Philippe's goal, quoting Mr. Jayer, is "to make wines that are good to drink both when young and when old."
