Shipping included on 4 bottles or more

Pernand is an easy place to miss! There’s not too much to it, and even the most ardent Burgundy lovers visiting the area rarely think to venture to the far side of the hill of Corton. But it’s only a short drive up and over to reach one of the last undiscovered gems in the entire Burgundy region.  There’s a whole lot more than meets the eye here.  In fact, while the name ‘Corton’ gets all the ooohs and ahhhs from wine lovers, the entirety of the iconic Corton-Charlemagne zone and all of Corton’s red Grand Crus are on west side of Corton hill and fall, at least partially, into the purview of Pernand.  The Pernand-Vergelesses appellation, though, boasts far more than just partial ownership of Corton’s most important wines. It has, on its own accord, several of the best Premier Crus in the entire Cotes de Beaune and, certainly, still produces some of its best values. The appellation boasts five outstanding Premier Crus.  Several, to the northern part of the valley, where they intersect with Corton’s best vineyards, are best known for their excellent Chardonnays, while those on the more southern end (abutting the appellation of Savigny-Les-Beaune) are planted mainly to Pinot Noir.  Because the soils have much the same iron-rich limestone, clay marls and pebbles, the reds produced here are very well known as ‘poor man’s Corton.’  The best-considered of these Premier Crus in Pernand, is Les Vergelesses, the vineyard for which the town appends its name. Better loved still, is the walled Ile de Vergelesses, a long, thin vineyard that winds its way along the hill of Savigny, the ‘walled island’ between the two appellations.  The vineyard sits at one of the highest points of the hill, over 800 feet, and is on nearly pure limestone and clay. In generations past, the reds of Pernand were far lesser known than the whites because the area was considered too cold to regularly ripen Pinot Noir.  Ile de Vergelesses was a notable exception, and the records show that many of the reds produced here in olden times sold for the same amount, or even more than Corton’s Grand Cru reds.  In these days of warmer harvests, well, there is a lot of thought to actually elevating Ile de Vergelesses to Grand Cru status!  (Let’s hope not.  This $65 wine could quickly become $650, and then where would we be?) It is in this hallowed piece of land where three generations of the Delarche family have farmed since the end of the World War II.  The current owner is Etienne, a meticulous, conscientious farmer who tends his 40+ year old parcel of Ile de Vergelesses with loving care, teasing out several prized barrels of red from his small parcel each vintage.  Fermented naturally on its own yeast and aged in older barrels, save for about 10% which are new, Etienne’s idea is to let the vineyard do the talking, creating a gorgeous expression of Pinot Noir from the Cotes de Beaune.  Charming yet robust, the fruit flavors of this still-young 2023 evoke blackberry, black cherry and plum with hints of chocolate dust, crushed stones and violets.  Even in its youth, it’s a complex red and that little bit of rusticity you will sense is very much the hallmark of Pinot Noir grown on or near Corton hill.  Drink it now for its precocious aromatics or hold it for as long as you can to watch how it all comes together.  Lamb.  This wine loves lamb.