“I came back to Burgundy in 2016 to help my father,” says Franck Follin-Arbelet. “I had a different life before. I lived in Japan for two years and then spent three years in France working for a Japanese culinary school. I started making the wine in 2017. My father is still involved.”

The domain is at the end of a cul-de-sac, very discrete, with a house and old cellars dating from 1754. “This is a small domain, which my father created in 1993. My mother is part of the Latour family and some of the vineyards were previously part of Louis Latour. I’m basically the second generation. This is a very classic domain, we do everything by ourselves.”

 Franck is thoughtful about the changes in Burgundy. “Burgundy is changing fast and the change since 2000 has been tremendous. The wines we are making today are different from the wines we made in the 1980s and 1990s. You have to forget what you expected from Burgundy.”

“For my grandfather, the more alcohol you had, the better. For him it was fantastic if alcohol reached 13%. In 2020 and 2023, some wines reached 14.5% and struggled to finish fermentation. I like the 2018s, but of course they are not like Burgundy style, more like the Côtes du Rhône.”

“We have made some changes, all to fight against the heat. We pick earlier in the day, starting around 6:30, so the grapes come in cool. And we have more cooling equipment for the vats. We tend to do less extraction, with fewer punch-downs, because the wines are darker and more extracted anyway.”

The domain has plots in Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, and Corton. The largest plots are premier crus in Aloxe-Corton, Les Vercots and Clos du Chapitre, each around 1 ha. “The plot in Corton is a sandwich.” South-facing, it is in en Charlemagne, with vines were planted in 1978. There are 17 rows of Pinot Noir, then 25 rows of Chardonnay, flanked by another 4 rows of Pinot Noir. It is one of the last plots with Pinot Noir in en Charlemagne.

Wines age for 18 months. Use of new oak increases with the level of the appellation. There is none for Pernand-Vergelesses, about 15% for Aloxe Corton premier crus, half for the Corton. When new oak is used, it is only for the first half of the élevage: after 11 months the wine is racked into used barriques.

We tasted the range from 2022, except for Les Vercots, which had all been sold, so we tasted the 2019. “We are facing a problem we [the Burgundians] created ourselves. Prices are crazy and people don’t want to buy Burgundy any more. We expected sales to be less, so we increased the allocations, but it all sold.”

Starting with premier cru Les Ficots from Pernand-Vergelesses, the wine shows classic freshness with a sense of tartness to cut the red fruits. The Aloxe Corton village is a step above the Pernand Vergelesses premier cru, and has greater depth and roundness, moving to the palate, with a nice edge of red fruits.  The fruits really take over in Aloxe-Corton premier cru Clos du Chapitre, which has a more feminine impression compared to the stronger, more powerful, Les Vercots. “Clos du Chapitre is a 2 ha clos and we have half of it. It is warmer spot because it is surrounded by houses in the village. The soil is distinctive, not very deep, with a lot of limestone. It always harvests early. Les Vercots has deeper soils.”

The red Corton comes from the same plot as the Corton Charlemagne in en Charlemagne. (“We cannot put Charlemagne on the label for a red wine, so it is labeled Corton without a climat.”) It ages in 4 barriques with 2 barriques new. Here the impressions of red and black fruits are right in the forefront, with a round, ripe impression, tending to elegance rather than power. “It’s not a massive wine, it’s delicate,” Franck says. It should become velvety, soft, and earthy, as it ages.  

The domain is focused on red wines but has whites from Pernand Vergelesses and Corton Charlemagne. The Pernand-Vergelesses village white has a fresh, clean style, something of a preview for the Corton Charlemagne, which is round on the palate but shows that typical sense of the linearity and minerality of Corton Charlemagne. The palate is smooth and silky, showing citric overtones with hints of new oak, which is very judicious. The wine makes up to 7 barriques, depending on the vintage, with a little new oak. “We can’t complain about our neighbors who are Coche Dury and DRC,” Franck says.

Tasting Notes, 2022 vintage

Les Fichots, Pernand-Vergelesses

Nice nose with some tart impressions and classical sense of freshness. Same sense of tartness carries over to palate with sour cherries/strawberries, light tannic support in background, texture moving towards chewy impression. 13.5%    88 Drink 2026-2032

Aloxe Corton
Nose shows similar style to the Pernand Vergelesses, with tart fresh impressions, but has greater depth and roundness moving to the palate, with a nice edge of red fruits. 89 Drink 2026-2034

Clos du Chapitre, Aloxe-Corton
Fresh nose has suggestions of tart but the red fruits are more evident than in the village Aloxe Corton. This gives a classic impression of the appellation with red and black fruits against a fresh background.    90 Drink 2026-2036

Les Vercots, Aloxe-Corton (2019)
Quite a fresh nose (especially considering the vintage): this shows the depth of the vintage but the palate retains freshness. The palate moves more towards black fruits. It is a success for the vintage.   91 Drink –2036

Corton
Impressions of red and black fruits are at the forefront, more obvious than with the premier cru Clos du Chapitre. The sense of freshness that marks the vintage in the Aloxe Corton and Pernand Vergelesses is less evident. “It’s not a massive wine, it’s delicate,” Franck says. Nice texture is not quite chewy, and should become velvety, soft, and earthy, as the wine ages. 91 Drink 2025-2037

Pernand Vergelesses, White
Fresh nose with some almost spirity notes. Fresh on the palate in a clean, linear style, citric overtones on the palate, which has nice weight, staying definitely in a citric spectrum.    89 Drink –2030

Corton Charlemagne
Round on the palate, the linearity and minerality of Corton Charlemagne showing here, citric overtones with some faint hints of new oak, which is very judicious. The palate makes a smooth, silky impression. It is a very good representation of Corton Charlemagne in the linear style.   92 Drink -2034