Domaine Christophe Lepage

Joigny is the last vineyard before Burgundy simply gives up and becomes Paris. The whole appellation is a rounding error (thirteen hectares qualify for Côte Saint-Jacques), and Christophe, third generation, took over the family's little hillside in 2009 and works it entirely by hand, because there is no other way up that slope. Flint over soft chalk, south-facing, and the region's odd survivors: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris, which they still call Beurot and make into a pale, haunting vin gris. Nobody needs this wine to exist. That's rather the point.

Joigny's vineyards are old, and the Lepage family has worked this northern corner of Burgundy for three generations. Christophe's grandfather established the domaine in the 1960s, his father took over in 1970, and Christophe followed in 2009.

Here, flint-rich clay sits over Turonian chalk on slopes overlooking the Yonne. Bourgogne Côte Saint-Jacques is an officially recognised geographical denomination within the regional Bourgogne appellation, so this small hillside can appear by name on qualifying labels.

There is a certain irony in calling Pinot Gris unusual in Burgundy. Known locally as Pinot Beurot, it belongs to an older Burgundian vocabulary, one increasingly overshadowed by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

In Joigny it is still a working grape. The traditional vin gris (a pale wine pressed with minimal skin contact) has long been associated with this hillside. Lepage continues the tradition with Pinot Gris grown over flint and chalk.

Farther south in Marsannay, Sylvain Pataille also makes Pinot Beurot. Pataille's story reaches well beyond this grape, but the link is real. For Lepage, Beurot is not a rediscovery. It never really left.

Founded

By Christophe's grandfather in the 1960s; his father took over in 1970

Third generation

Christophe Lepage has led the estate since 2009

Holdings

Approximately 4.5 hectares

Soils

Flint-rich clay over soft Turonian chalk

Aspect

Predominantly south-facing slopes overlooking the Yonne

Farming

Hand-worked and hand-harvested; lutte raisonnée