Follin Arbelet

Follin Arbelet wines at Aloxe Corton in Burgundy: great classic-style terroir wines

Wines from Domaine Follin Arbelet: buy at the best price

Located in the heart of the village of Aloxe-Corton in the Côte de Beaune, Domaine Follin Arbelet cultivates nearly 5 hectares of vineyards and produces a very fine range of appellations in the commune and its close surroundings, comprising 3 red Burgundy Grand Crus (Corton and Corton Bressandes), and in the Côte de Nuits a very rare and remarkable Romanée Saint Vivant, along with 1 white Burgundy Grand Cru (Corton Charlemagne). 

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Follin Arbelet Romanée Saint Vivant 2017
1 in stock
123441
Red
75cl
18/20
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Burgundy | Romanée Saint Vivant

Follin Arbelet Romanée Saint Vivant 2017

€480.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€400.00 ex-VAT

History of Domaine Follin-Arbelet

The family has long been established in Aloxe-Corton and once owned vineyards in some of the hillside’s most prestigious appellations. For decades, however, these vines were entrusted to sharecroppers, and the family did not make its own wine. Franck Follin-Arbelet is the first descendant to devote himself fully to viticulture and winemaking. After pursuing higher studies in geology in Montpellier—a background that would continue to inform his understanding of terroir—he chose to return to Burgundy and make a career of growing grapes.

He began in 1990 with his first plot in Aloxe-Corton, farmed under a lease, joining the estate of his father-in-law André. The premiers crus followed in 1993, the year he took charge of the estate, and then came the grands crus. Together with his wife Christine, he gradually built a range of rare coherence, centered entirely on the finest climats of the Corton hillside. The estate has deliberately remained small, with just four full-time staff, allowing all work to be done by hand and quality to be controlled at every stage. Today, Franck’s son Simon works alongside his father, carrying on this artisanal approach.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine Follin-Arbelet

Because Burgundy is a region of single-varietal wines, it is the individual plot, or climat, that determines a wine’s character and qualities. Each of the estate’s appellations therefore has its own identity, nuanced each year by the vintage. The vineyard, covering around five hectares, is concentrated in Aloxe-Corton and its immediate surroundings, with plots on the slopes of the Corton hill and in Pernand-Vergelesses, plus one notable exception in the Côte de Nuits: half a hectare of Romanée-Saint-Vivant. The soils range from the ocher-colored clay marl of the Le Charlemagne climat to high-altitude white marl, the compact clay over fractured bedrock of Les Vercots, and the stony ground of Clos du Chapitre.

Every stage receives the utmost care to produce wines that express their terroir as faithfully as possible. The plots are plowed several times, without herbicides or chemical fertilizers. Plant-protection treatments are applied only when necessary, in calm, windless weather, using small, lightweight tractors to avoid compacting the soil. Great care goes into pruning, shoot thinning, and training the vines, yielding grapes in excellent health and at optimal ripeness. The cellars and winery are in the center of the village, in a beautiful family property built in 1764 in typical Burgundian style. The cellars, probably the deepest in Aloxe-Corton, are particularly cold and humid—ideal conditions for making and aging fine wines.

Winemaking at Domaine Follin-Arbelet

Great wines are the culmination of great terroirs brought to life through careful, natural vineyard work, straightforward winemaking without artifice, and skillful aging. Harvesting by hand takes place over the course of a week. The grapes are selected and sorted as they are picked, then transported in crates on regular shuttle runs to prevent crushing and premature maceration. The Pinot Noir is fully destemmed, and each plot is vinified separately in its own open oak vat. After a few days of maceration at 15 to 17 degrees, fermentation begins naturally with indigenous yeasts, followed by two weeks in vat with regular punch-downs and pump-overs. The wine is then drawn off, the pomace pressed in a pneumatic press, and the press wine blended in according to taste before settling for 24 to 48 hours. The Corton-Charlemagne Chardonnay, meanwhile, is pressed directly as whole bunches; after settling overnight, the must goes into barrels for fermentation entirely in oak.

All the wines are transferred by gravity into barrels in the cellars beneath the winery, with 15 to 75% new oak depending on the appellation and vintage. Aging lasts 16 to 20 months. The wines are first racked after a year, following malolactic fermentation, to remove the coarse lees, and then again before bottling to blend the barrels of each cuvée. This careful racking allows the wines to be bottled without filtration, as the cellar’s consistently cool temperature helps them clarify naturally. Only the whites may be fined if needed. The absence of filtration preserves the wines’ richness, complexity, and aging potential, though a slight deposit in the bottle is inevitable.

The Cuvées of Domaine Follin-Arbelet

Aloxe-Corton Village: this 0.8-hectare cuvée blends fruit from two low-yielding old-vine plots immediately adjacent to the premier cru boundary, vinified together. One faces east and the other south, bringing both freshness and ripeness. The result is an elegant, highly aromatic Aloxe-Corton bursting with fruit and generally showing round, ripe tannins. It can be enjoyed from 3 or 4 years of age and will keep easily for 10 to 12 years.

Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru “En Caradeux”: a 0.36-hectare Pinot Noir plot on a steep, due-east-facing slope opposite the hill of Corton. Its elevation and exposure to the morning sun yield wines with beautiful color, combining structure and minerality. The fruit is precise, the structure focused, and the finish saline. A premier cru well suited to aging, with a drinking window of 5 to 10 years.

Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru “Les Fichots”: 0.5 hectares of Pinot Noir overlooking the valley that separates the Corton and Pernand hillsides. The terroir consists of clay soils over compact limestone bedrock. The grapes, consistently well ripened, produce rich, powerful, structured wines that are undoubtedly among the finest expressions of the appellation. An aging period of 5 to 15 years suits this wine perfectly.

Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru “Les Vercots”: at the southern edge of the village of Aloxe-Corton, this climat forms a premier cru enclave surrounded by village-level appellation land. The estate owns more than one hectare here. Its compact clay soils over very hard, shallow, fractured bedrock produce wines of impressive stature and concentration, with remarkable persistence and powerful, firm tannins. That concentration and length place it among the finest Aloxe-Corton premiers crus, with an aging potential of 7 to 20 years.

Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru “Clos du Chapitre”: in the heart of the village, this 0.95-hectare walled vineyard, officially recorded as Les Meix, once belonged to the Chapter of Autun, hence its name. Its stony terroir promotes early ripening and excellent maturity. The estate is one of only two owners of this clos. The wines are consistently harmonious and elegant, with sour-cherry notes, intense natural fruit, remarkable balance, and a refreshing finish. They can be enjoyed from 3 or 4 years of age and develop beautifully over 10 to 15 years.

Corton Grand Cru: a 0.4-hectare plot on the southern slope of the Corton hillside, in the Le Charlemagne climat. Planted with Pinot Noir, it cannot qualify for the Corton-Charlemagne appellation, which is reserved for white wine. This terroir typically associated with white wine, with its ocher-colored clay marl, gives the wine great elegance, subtlety, and complexity, with beautiful violet aromas and a remarkably silky texture. The tannins are always harmonious, ripe, and integrated. A wine to enjoy even in its youth, from 3 to 15 years of age.

Corton Bressandes Grand Cru: a low-yielding, 0.43-hectare old-vine plot on the lower slopes of the Corton hill, facing due east. This climat is among the finest grand cru sites on the hillside. Its wines combine the strength and power of great Corton with finesse and elegance. They have a vigorous character and an initial savory, blood-like note, yet their tannins are supple and silky. A quintessential red Burgundy grand cru, to cellar for 5 to 15 years or more.

Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru: a 0.5-hectare plot of old-vine Chardonnay at the edge of the Corton woods, 350 meters above sea level, overlooking the Bressandes climat and facing due east, on white marl soils. This white grand cru brings together all the hallmarks of Burgundy’s finest wines: richness and opulence combined with minerality, energy, and vibrancy. This balance gives it excellent aging potential, from 3 to 10 years and well beyond.

Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru: the estate’s jewel, a 0.5-hectare Pinot Noir plot in the Côte de Nuits, on one of the most prestigious terroirs in all of Burgundy, at the foot of the legendary Romanée-Conti. The plot has highly clay-rich brown limestone soils over hard limestone bedrock. Deep in color, the wine reveals aromas of violet and small red and black berries, with tremendous length on the palate. Its consistently silky, elegant tannins give it exceptional persistence. Its balance and density allow it to age for 15 to 20 years.

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