Burgundy (Red)

As well as working with his maternal grandmother, Marie-Josephe Gagnard (see Domaine Gagnard Delagrange), Marc-Antonin Blain is also making his own wines.  In keeping with the wise traditions of this exceptional Burgundian family, ownership of small parcels of vines are passed down the generations each year, and Marc-Antonin now has 1.16 hectares.  He has also taken over buildings in Chassagne, next to his parents (Domaine Blain Gagnard), which came from Marie-Josephe’s mother’s family (Bachelet) and were previously used by her father, Edmond Delagrange.

Bouchard Père et Fils is the largest vineyard owner of the Côte d'Or, with truly spectacular holdings in the Côte de Nuits and, more particularly, in the Côte de Beaune - where almost all the greatest sites are represented, all the way up to Chevalier and Montrachet.  The firm was founded in 1731, and has had its headquarters in the Château de Beaune, with its magnificent 15th centuray cellars, since 1820.  In 1995 the Bouchards were bought out by Joseph Henriot, whose family has been long-established in Champagne.  The house benefitted from much needed investment in the years which followed - some 30 additional hectares of vineyards were bought and, in 2005, the ultra modern winery came into operation, giving Philippe Prost and his winemaking team all they need to make some of Burgundy's finest wines.

Grégoire Bichot put this domaine together with the help of his father Bénigne, having decided not to join his family's famous négociant firm in Beaune.  He began working out of small cellars in Vosne Romanée which belonged to the firm, but his possession of the buildings proved rather less secure than he had imagined, and his occupation of them ceased in 2008.  Out of adversity however came a great opportunity - when Grégoire heard that a fine 19th century négociant's building (with deep cellars) was to be demolished, he raised the money to buy it and took it over shortly before the 2009 harvest.  He now has a marvellous space in which to work, with wonderful deep cellars, and much of the necessary restoration has been completed.  The future of this fabulous source of Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru and Nuits 1er Cru once more seems secure.

Didier Darviot and his wife Genviève (née Perrin) run this important domaine which has brought together the vineyard holdings of two Meursault and Monthélie families.  This has created one of the few domaines to have vines in the three most important 1er Cru vineyards of Meursault: Perrières, Genevrières and Charmes.  In addition to this, they also have vines in Chassagne 1er Cru Blanchots Dessus - Chassagne's only 1er Cru vineyard on the north side of the N6, immediately abutting Le Montrachet, where the ground falls away, and opposite Criots Bâtard Montrachet.  Didier is a winemaker of prodigious talent, and if his administration leads to frustrations (particularly the fact that he makes his wines available for shipment a year or more after most other growers) that seems a price worth paying for such sublime wine making.

A house with a long history and today the largest vineyard owner in Burgundy, Faiveley was founded in 1825 by Pierre Faiveley.  The foundations of its modern success however were laid by Georges Faiveley, who saw the firm through the difficult inter-war years when it was said that a new barrel cost more than the wine which filled it.  His grandson François, handed control over to his own son Erwan – the 7^th generation – in 2005.  A new team was quickly put in place – most significantly perhaps including Bernard Hervé as Managing Director – who supervised the transformation of Bouchard after Joseph Henriot’s purchase, and an extremely talented winemaker, Jérôme Flous.  Faiveley's winery and principle cellars are in Nuits St Georges - the nerve centre of a genuinely world class operation.

This outstanding domaine, producing among the very finest white wines of the Côte d’Or, is run by Céline Fontaine with the still very much active involvement of her parents Richard and Laurence – particularly since the birth of her daughter Lison on 2^nd July 2014.  Demand for these wines has become enormously strong in recent vintages, and production of the Grands Crus in particular is always very limited. The domaine produces wines of exceptional richness, finesse, and kaleidoscopic mineral complexity. While Fontaine's stellar reputation is based primarily on the immense quality of his whites, the domaine also produces very lovely reds, which are not only beautifully pure expressions of Pinot Noir but also very attractively priced.

More information can be found on the domaine's website: http://www.domaine-fontaine-gagnard.com/

Since the death of the wonderful Jacques Gagnard in July 2009, this domaine has been run by his widow Marie-Josèphe (daughter of Edmond Delagrange) and their grandson Marc-Antonin Blain.  Over the last fifteen years or so, most of the vineyards have been handed on to their two daughters (Laurence, married to Richard Fontaine; and Claudine, married to Jean-Marc Blain).  However, the domaine continues to produce outstanding, long-lived wines from the approximately 3 hectares it retains.  These include a 1er Cru red Chassagne from vines planted in 1928, the year of Jacques' birth.

One of the greatest domaines of the Côte de Nuits, the Groffiers (Robert, retired but still undertaking some of the vineyard work, his son Serge and grandson Nicolas) are producing some of the most sought-after wines of Burgundy.  Although only about 7 hectares, the domaine boasts the largest holding of Chambolle’s greatest 1er Cru vineyard, Les Amoureuses, as well as a number of other very fine appellations. At the lower end of the appellation scale, the village (Gevrey) and regional (Bourgognes) wines are of absolutely outstanding quality.  It is unusual for being in the village of Morey St Denis, but of owning no vines of the village.  The Groffiers' wines are consistently outstanding, and rightly highly prized.

Charles van Canneyt, grandson of Alain Hudelot, runs this famous estate, with the very able assistance of Vincent Mugnier, who has been at the domaine since March 2005.  Most of the vineyards come from the family of Alain's wife, née Noëllat, and while Alain remains a force to be reckoned with, so too does Madame Hudelot whose outward charm surely conceals an inner determination.  Charles has however clearly been given full support in making a number of improvements to the vineyards since the 2008 harvest, and it is clear that under such dynamic leadership, the future of this great estate looks extremely bright.

Jean-Marc runs this fine estate with his wife Christine.  They operate out of lovely old cellars in Nuits St Georges and work assiduously to produce pure, soft, mesmerising Burgundies with the accent firmly on the quality of the aromas and the fruit.  The wines are very highly regarded.

This 7.3 hectare domaine with its old cellars in the centre of Volnay was founded by Gaston Poulleau.  Gaston’s son Michel carried on his father’s work, expanding the vineyards when he married Jacqueline, whose family owned vines in Aloxe, Chorey and Corton Charlemagne.  Today it is Michel and Jacqueline’s son Thierry who runs the domaine, with the help of his wife Florence.  This is a classic small Burgundian domaine – owned and run with real dedication by its founding family.

Alexandrine Roy’s great-grandfather founded this small domaine which has been bottling its production since 1982.   Alexandrine took responsibility for it in 2003.  She coaxes wines of the most exceptional quality from her 4 hectares of village vineyards – sadly the domaine has no 1er or Grand Cru holdings, though from 2011 vintage they have some ‘La Justice’ which is another of Gevrey’s finest village sites (along with Clos Prieur).  Alexandrine brings exceptional passion to her winemaking, and everything is done by hand (or, in the case of pressing, by foot!).  This is a source for wines of the most outstanding purity, very much in the Fourrier style for example.