Bourgogne

Denis was constantly alert, with highly developed senses. He fed his vines and they in turn fed him. The foundations of the estate’s incomparable wines reflect this relationship based upon the senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Denis felt the wine before even thinking about it. Extremely moved by this relationship, he was at a loss for words, and let himself be guided by intuition. The wine was never limited to a single product. It included instead everything associated with it or adding extra value: something funny that happened in the vineyard, an encounter, a special moment, a state of heart. Nothing has changed today. The flavours expressed by wine are confounded with the flavours of life. The taste of wine is at once a quest for our 5 senses as well as a combination of senses.

Denis loved nature. He excluded the use of weed killers and chemical fertilisers in 1996. And favoured tilling and the use of organic products instead, including shredded vine shoots. In line with this family tradition, Arnaud is taking the upkeep of the vine a step even further in this direction. Unbiased, he has opted for a type of vine growing largely inspired by organic farming, and to his mind, closer to nature. Arnaud wants his vines to breath, for the soil to be supple and home to a protective fauna and flora. He wants his grapes to ripen and to remain firm and fresh. As a result he does things his own way: traditional pruning according to the simple guyot method, and tilling of the soil, using a machine or a horse. Introduced by Denis in 1994, the trimming and trellising techniques play an important role. The lightweight tractors have been raised to increase the height of the trellis by 1.45 metre. In summer a team of 12 people pass several times through the vineyard where they trim, till and dig. Green harvesting is adapted to each variety depending upon its potential. At harvest time, Arnaud goes through all of the vineyards. He picks some grapes, analyses and most importantly tastes them. If the grapes are black, but not withered, the tannins crunchy, the skin firm, the pulp fresh and fruity, then he has a real Pinot Noir! And the time is ripe for its hand picking.

This vineyard translates to a wide band stretching from the outskirts of Dijon in Nuits Saint-Georges. It is built against Combe de Lavaux, the most alpine area of Côte de Nuits. The village was called Gevrey-en-Montagne until 1847, when it became Gevrey-Chambertin following a royal decree. Gevrey-Chambertin was the first district in Burgundy combining its name with that of its most prestigious terroir.
The first vestiges of vines date back to 630 when the oldest Burgundy estate “Clos de Bèze” was established by the monks of the Bèze abbey. It has preserved the name ever since. The upper part of the village boasts the still intact square towers of the castle dating back to the 10th century. It was built by the lords of Vergy, who decided to give it to the monks of Cluny. The climate referred to as “The Monk Coomb” bears witness to their presence.
From a historic point of view, Gevrey-Chambertin remains the leading vineyard in Burgundy: the biggest with 434 hectares producing wine, and the most prestigious with the largest number of Grands Crus (9 out of 23) and Premiers Crus (26 classified climates). It exclusively produces red wine from Pinot Noir.