Domaine Xavier Monnot is a 42-acre estate based in Meursault, with vineyard holdings stretching from Beaune to Maranges across the full length of the Côte de Beaune. The domaine produces both red and white wines, with the white wines including Premier Cru holdings in Meursault Charmes, Chassagne-Montrachet En Remilly and Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières. Xavier Monnot’s winemaking philosophy emphasises the maintenance of average vine age at 30 to 40 years, hand harvesting and minimal intervention in both vineyard and cellar. The domaine produces Corton-Charlemagne from fruit sourced through a longstanding contract arrangement with two growers in Aloxe-Corton and Pernand-Vergelesses, vinifying the blend together to create a single grand cru expression.

Corton-Charlemagne is the largest white wine Grand Cru in the Côte d’Or, covering approximately 70 hectares across the hill of Corton in the northern Côte de Beaune, straddling the communes of Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses. The Grand Cru produces Chardonnay of pronounced structure, high acidity and a distinctive mineral and spice character shaped by the iron-rich limestone soils of the upper slopes. The 2018 growing season in Burgundy was characterised by warmth and generous ripeness, and in Corton-Charlemagne the combination of altitude and excellent drainage moderated the vintage’s richness to produce wines of power and precision.

The Burgundy-Report has consistently praised Domaine Xavier Monnot’s Corton-Charlemagne, with its 2019 barrel report noting an ‘explosive burst of aroma, very impressive’ character. As a contract wine rather than estate-grown fruit, the Corton-Charlemagne at Monnot occupies a distinctive position in the range, bringing one of Burgundy’s most powerful Grand Cru appellations into the domaine’s Meursault-centred portfolio. The 2018 is a wine that requires patience: its structure and Grand Cru ambition reward cellaring of five to ten years from release, at which point the mineral and spice complexity of Corton-Charlemagne typically begins to emerge.