Etienne Delarche

The small Burgundian winery Etienne Delarche is the creator of fine expressions that reflect the refinement of Côte d'Or wines. The Domaine is located in Pernard-Vergelesses, a commune at the northern end of the Côte de Beaune, right next to the border with the Côte de Nuits. Here, Marius Delarche and his wife Jeanne officially started the family's winemaking tradition in the 1950s. Later the baton was passed to their son Philippe, who undertook work to expand the vineyards and renovate the winemaking and aging rooms, building a three-level winery. When Philippe died in 2007, it was his young son Etienne Delarche who took the reins of the estate, also starting a parallel project as negociant in 2016, purchasing grapes from trusted local winemakers and producing wines with the same love and care as his own. In addition, Etienne further expanded the winery structure by adding a fourth level with a beautiful tasting room overlooking the Corton vineyards.

Domaine Etienne Delarche has 9 hectares of vineyards spread between the communes of Pernard-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton, conducted through environmentally friendly agriculture and dedicated to the native Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligoté grape varieties. The soils have a high clay and limestone content, and once the grapes reach the perfect stage of ripeness, they are harvested by hand. Vinification of the reds involves the total destemming of the grapes, while the whites are vinified whole cluster with soft pressing. Fermentations are carried out in spontaneous manner thanks to indigenous yeasts, in stainless steel tanks for the reds and in old French oak barrels for the whites. Instead, for all wines the subsequent aging phase takes place in French oak barrels, with a percentage of new wood never exceeding 30 percent, and the masses are finally bottled without any clarification or filtration.

Among the most prestigious labels produced by Domaine Etienne Delarche, the Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru and Corton Grand Cru 'Les Renardes' undoubtedly stand out. In general, the Domaine's wines express a clean and elegant style, configuring themselves as crystal-clear interpretations of the terroir of origin.