Sitting plum in the middle of the Côte d’Or, the hill of Corton is hard to miss. Its wines, especially the whites, however, are all too often overlooked. We sat down with some of the region’s leading producers to explore the pedigree and potential of this site and its powerful, long-lasting wines

Discover the pedigree and potential of the hill of Corton’s whites – the fine Chardonnay from Corton-Charlemagne, Charlemagne and Corton Blanc 

Exploring Corton-Charlemagne, Charlemagne and Corton Blanc 

Corton-Charlemagne: the Grand Cru of the future?  

Long ago, we wrenched grapevines from their natural habitat. Enthusiastic creepers, their shoots and tendrils are designed to cling onto whatever they can as they grow; winding themselves around trees or other plants in the wild. But we dragged vines out of the forest and forced them into rigid trellises, taming their wayward growth to produce a crop that served our purpose. Now, however, there’s a movement to re-integrate trees and plants into viticulture.  Cheval Blanc is one of the most famous proponents of agroforestry, which is a key part of its manifesto on a modern approach to viticulture. Augustin Fromageot – who now works full time at Anjou’s Domaine Belargus – was one of the team involved in the project, planting over 4,000 trees at the estate in two years. Until then, Fromageot – a trained geologist – had been working in South America, largely in cocoa and coffee, but the vine was calling. The team converted the estate into a laboratory of sorts – experimenting with different ways to integrate trees, within rows, replacing rows, in copses and borders or any other way you can imagine planting them alongside vines, all set to be followed in scientific programmes to track what works and what doesn’t. Now he’s doing a similar thing at Belargus, managing their extensive nature reserve and working to increase biodiversity on the estate – working to manage the landscape, as he sees it.  It’s an oversimplification to suggest that vines have gone directly from wild creepers to industrialised monocultures. Historically, farming was poly-cultural, a smallholding contained everything a family needed – and vines often formed part of that. Pergola trellising, for example, allowed for other crops to be planted beneath, while trees being used as a living trellis was not uncommon – often referenced as married vines, the Roman method of arbusta (favoured by Pliny, for example) – and grown alongside each other, culture en hautain, cultura mista or joualle. It’s this latter method, favoured in southwest France a century or so ago, that Cheval Blanc has in part been trialling, with individual trees replacing vines within a row. It looks beautiful, however brings its own complications, limiting mechanisation. It is, as Fromageot, says, a “poetic” way to integrate trees. You’ll still find vines trained up trees in Bolivia, in the Cinti Valley (as for the Jardín Oculto project), although these are ancient examples – and few would plant vines like this today. It’s an impractical way to farm, at the end of the day, one that only worked on a very small scale, but it’s clear that industrialisation has pushed monocultures too far – and agroforestry is one way in which producers are trying to fix the damage done.  Trees are remarkable in many ways, but they can have a huge impact on a vineyard. Their physical presence can influence the microclimate – protecting a vineyard from frost, heat and wind, as well as acting as a physical barrier between neighbouring properties – preventing any unwanted sprays drifting into your vines. They increase biodiversity – providing a habitat for insects and animals, in particular bats, and they absorb carbon dioxide. They reduce soil erosion (with topsoil erosion a major threat to agriculture worldwide) and increase organic matter, which in turn increases soil’s water-holding capacity – a major plus in dry regions. For Fromageot, trees help to create a resilience in the vineyard, reinforcing the vines’ natural defences, and therefore reducing the number of treatments required.   It’s easy to look at such a list and understand the principles at play. Clearly there are benefits for the environment – but what does it mean for the wine in your glass? Well, a lot, potentially. As few as five trees will influence the microclimate in a 100-metre radius; they can reduce the temperature in a parcel by as much as 2-3°C, preserving acidity, lowering alcohol and retaining precision in the aromatics. And, shielding a vineyard from extreme frost or heat, as well as providing better water reserves in the soils, allows for a more consistent yield, all of which is beneficial with climate change – with both more extreme weather conditions and global warming.  Of course, it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. “It teaches us an immense humility,” Fromageot tells me, as I start asking him about the world of agroforestry, and more specifically vitiforestry. He’s more than aware that agroforestry has become a buzzword in wine – it's suddenly very trendy. But there’s a lot of work involved in planting and managing trees. For starters, deciding where and how to plant trees is key. Their ability to influence microclimate can be both good and bad – with the potential to create frost pockets, to increase humidity, reduce airflow and therefore disease pressure. “You need to read the landscape,” Fromageot explains.  You also have to decide what sort of tree to plant, as well as the rootstock, ensuring it will complement viticulture. The first thing Fromageot does when taking on a project is look at all the local nurseries to understand the native varieties. Fruit trees are common, but as he notes, you need to ensure it has a different harvest time to grapes to avoid any conflict – he looks to apples, pears and prunes, in particular, highlighting how challenging peaches and apricots can be. Otherwise, the likes of maple, ash, mulberry, black poplar, hornbeam and linden can all work – essentially trees that share the same type of mycorrhizae (the microorganisms that attach to roots) as vines. You want to avoid anything that might taint your wine, or anything that will inhibit growth – such as walnut trees, which produce a toxic compound, juglone.  Trees have significantly different requirements to vines, needing different equipment and expertise to thrive, with – for example – extensive fertilisation to establish trees, which need richer soils. Trees will – wherever they are planted – occupy space that could otherwise be used for vines, yielding additional crop. And it’s a slow process, with it taking around a decade for trees to start influencing viticulture in a meaningful way, says Fromageot. All of this costs time and money – making agroforestry a luxury that not all producers can afford, although Fromageot feels that trees can be integrated in a different way for producers working at scale.  Alain Canet – an agronomist and specialist in agroforestry – argues that re-introducing trees is crucial for agriculture. “For some soils it is already too late,” he writes. “But for most, we have time to act... In agroecological terms, the transition to trees is the transition to life.”  There are many scientific reasons to favour vitiforestry, but for Fromageot there is a more compelling reason: the landscape fixes people to a geography, to a place, and that – he argues – is essential for making fine wine. Beauty in the landscape you live and work in helps us “find sense in life”, he tells me. Romantic? Maybe. But with the science to back it up, it’s hard not to be persuaded that trees line the way to a more sustainable future – in wine, yes, but in wider agriculture too. 

Agroforestry is the latest trend to take over the world of fine wine – but why? We sat down with Domaine Belargus’s Augustin Fromageot to find out why trees might just be the key to sustainable viticulture 

Agroforestry is the latest trend to take over the world of fine wine – but why? We sat down with Domaine Belargus’s Augustin Fromageot to find out more

Trees and wine: exploring the world of vitiforestry

Putting down roots: the world of vitiforestry 

When Alain Hudelot retired in 2008, it was his grandson who stepped up to take over the family estate, Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat. Charles van Canneyt – then just 20 years old and fresh from his wine studies – suddenly found himself managing 10 hectares of vines and running a winery. But he wasn’t any 20-year-old.  Gradually modernising the estate’s equipment and tweaking the winemaking (particularly toning down the extraction), he transformed the reputation of the domaine. Rapidly he became known as one of Burgundy’s rising stars, with Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat soon among the region’s most revered names. Not one to be complacent, he started a négoce label in 2012 – offering another avenue for Burgundy-lovers to get access to his winemaking talent.   Now he has – along with his wife Anne-Sophie – taken on a new challenge, having purchased a new estate: Domaine des Chézeaux. It’s unlikely you’ll know the name of this Gevrey-Chambertin property, but you’ll almost certainly know its vineyards.  This history of Domaine des Chézeaux  Domaine des Chézeaux was created by François Mercier in 1982, although the family has had vines in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin since 1928. The estate’s name comes from the Clos des Chézeaux, the walled vineyard next to the domaine. The family were land-owners rather than winemakers, so all their vines were leased out – en métayage – to other producers. This arrangement is common in Burgundy: the vignerons renting the vineyards manage them year-round and make the wine, giving a portion of their production (often around a third) to the vineyard-owner by way of rent.  This historic estate grew from its original holdings and – as of 1994 – consisted of around four hectares. The vines were split between three producers: Domaine Ponsot (and later Laurent Ponsot), René Leclerc and Domaine Berthaut (later Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet).  Ponsot rented the property’s original 0.89-hectare plot of Griotte-Chambertin, as well as Domaine des Chézeaux’s parcels of Clos Saint-Denis*, Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Charmes. Domaine Berthaut leased the two Gevrey-Chambertin Premiers Crus (Les Cazetiers and Lavaux-Saint-Jacques) as well as the property’s village parcels, including the Clos des Chézaux. While technically the latter is a monopole, because Berthaut didn’t own the land it couldn’t be called as such.  Ahead of the 1994 vintage, the Mercier family purchased another parcel of Griotte-Chambertin, an additional 0.68 hectares that had been owned by Suzanne Thomas of Thomas Bassot, giving them the largest holding of this Grand Cru. The Esmonin family had been farming the vines in this parcel, selling some fruit to Jadot, and the Mercier family then leased it to René Leclerc (although the Esmonin family also continued to bottle the wine, with vintages of Frédéric Esmonin Griotte-Chambertin up to and including 1999 available). A portion of each of the finished wines was bottled under the Domaine des Chézeaux label, but was identical to that under the Ponsot, Leclerc or Berthaut labels – often at a fraction of the price.  Domaine des Chézeaux today In 2021, Charles van Canneyt managed to buy the estate and its enviable vineyard holdings. With all the vines under métayage contracts, the next challenge was to reclaim the vines – negotiating with each producer. By 2022 he had secured the monopole Clos des Chézeaux and Premier Cru Les Cazetiers, but sold the fruit. In 2023, having regained a parcel of Griotte-Chambertin, he made his first wines from the property.  By the time 2024 came around, he had managed to recover all the vineyards – adding Chambertin, Clos Saint-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Charmes. As part of the extensive negotiations, the Lavaux-Saint-Jacques parcel, some Gevrey-Chambertin village vines and two small sections of Griotte-Chambertin were sold.  The vines are generally old across the property, and the farming and winemaking is identical to that at Hudelot-Noëllat, with the fruit entirely de-stemmed and seeing very gentle extraction. The first vintages were vinified at Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat (but are being aged in the cellars at Domaine des Chézeaux), and work has started on a new winery that is set to be finished later this year (2025). Interestingly Van Canneyt has already seen the wines maturing differently at Chézeaux, with the particularly cool, humid cellar meaning the wines develop more slowly during élevage and need topping up less. He therefore anticipates ageing the wines slightly longer than those of Hudelot-Noëllat. The estate is retaining its historic name, but with new labels – helping differentiate from older bottlings made prior to Van Canneyt’s arrival. The name has the same origin as Echezeaux: chesaux – plural of chesal (which comes from the Latin, casellum or casalis) – meaning a stone house or building.   The Domaine des Chézeaux holdings   The estate now has around three hectares of vines, over half of which is Grand Cru, spread across six appellations:  Gevrey-Chambertin Clos des Chézeaux: This monopole vineyard covers half a hectare, with some of the vines almost 100 years in age (planted in 1929). Mid-slope and facing southeast, the village site has deep, clay-rich soils with gravel, sitting just below Premier Cru Cazetiers and neighbouring another monopole village site, Clos du Château, farmed and produced by Armand Rousseau.  Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Cazetiers: Chézeaux has 0.216 hectares of this Premier Cru split over two parcels: one of 0.1615 hectares in the northern section and 0.045 hectares in the south.  Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Charmes: Van Canneyt farms around 0.6 hectares in this Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru, which he also has a parcel of under Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat.  Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru: There is a plot of 0.3776 hectares in Clos Saint-Denis, which will briefly be appearing in the range for 2024 (with just one barrel), but is now being replanted and out of action until 2029 at least.  Chambertin Grand Cru: A parcel (combining one tiny plot that sits next to their main plot) in the heart of this Grand Cru represents 0.143 hectares.  Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru: Chézeaux is the largest vineyard holder in this Grand Cru, with an impressive 1.264 hectares of vines, a parcel in the heart of this tiny appellation.  Spotlight on Griotte-Chambertin  Griotte-Chambertin, also known as En Griotte, is the smallest of the Chambertin Grands Crus, totalling 2.69 hectares (and is among the smallest Grands Crus in the Côte d’Or, along with La Romanée, La Romanée-Conti and La Grande Rue for Pinot Noir). It sits below Clos de Bèze on the slope, just below the Route des Grands Crus and sandwiched between Chapelle-Chambertin and Charmes-Chambertin, facing northeast. This aspect is important, allowing the vines here to ripen more slowly, not receiving as much morning sun. The wines made here tend to be more delicate, aromatic and perfumed, less muscular than is perhaps typical for the village of Gevrey-Chambertin, and therefore highly prized. Pebble-rich, chalky topsoil sits over deep, limestone bedrock, with more clay the further down the slope you go.  Domaine des Chézeaux is the largest owner of the site, with 1.246 hectares – almost half of the vineyard. Other producers who own vines here are: Joseph Drouhin (0.53 hectares), Fourrier (0.26 hectares), Claude Dugat (0.15 hectares), Marchand Frères (0.13 hectares), Joseph Roty (0.08 hectares) and Duroché (0.02 hectares), as well as now Laurent Ponsot (0.11 hectares) and an investor who has leased his small portion of the Grand Cru to Cécile Tremblay (circa 0.2 hectares). The origin of the vineyard’s name is disputed. Some argue that it comes directly from “griotte”, the word for morello cherry – tied either to trees that were once planted in the site, or as a reference to the character of wine it typically produces. Most, however, now suggest it comes from “criotte”, the diminutive of “crais”, referring to the chalky pebbles that are found in its soils.    Insider knowledge: Domaine des Chézeaux Griotte-Chambertin Historic bottlings of Domaine des Chézeaux Griotte-Chambertin have been something of an insider’s secret, as some are Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin under a different label. Some were the wine made by René Leclerc, and it’s not always possible to know which.  1982 to 1993 vintages inclusive: Domaine des Chézeaux only had their original parcel of Griotte-Chambertin during this time, and it was leased to Domaine Ponsot  1994: Reportedly, only one wine was produced under the Domaine des Chézeaux label in 1994 – the first vintage in which Chézeaux had their second parcel of Griotte, which was leased to René Leclerc. The wine from both parcels was blended together for the Domaine des Chézeaux bottling.   1995 to 2001 vintages inclusive: Two identical Domaine des Chézeaux bottlings of Griotte-Chambertin were produced during these years, with nothing on the label to indicate which producer made them.  2002 onwards: The producer of the Griotte-Chambertin is detailed on the Domaine des Chézeaux labels from the 2002 vintage. While there continued to be two bottlings up to and including 2004, from 2005 onwards, René Leclerc’s Griotte was only occasionally bottled by Domaine des Chézeaux, with the wine more often sold off in bulk. (The 2010 and 2011 vintages are the exception, with the Leclerc bottling returning to the Chézeaux line-up, but with the producer name detailed on the label still.)   The Ponsot wines also have the Ponsot name embossed on the bottom of the bottles. Laurent Ponsot retained the lease for the vineyard when he left the family domaine, 2017 onwards.   The future of Domaine des Chézeaux  While Domaine des Chézeaux has a surprisingly deep history for such a modern estate, it’s surely only the beginning. With a talented vigneron like Charles van Canneyt at the helm and such enviable vineyard holdings, quality at this address is only going in one direction – and we’ve no doubt the wines will soon be as hard to secure as anything else he produces.  Domaine des Chézeaux’s 2023s 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos des Chézeaux: This monopole vineyard covers half a hectare, with some of the vines almost 100 years in age (planted in 1929). Mid-slope and facing southeast, the village site has deep, clay-rich soils with gravel, sitting just below Premier Cru Cazetiers and neighbouring another monopole village site, Clos du Château, farmed and produced by Armand Rousseau. Charles van Canneyt noted how managing the surrounding woodland (in particular removing some trees) had totally changed the site – bringing better airflow and more sunlight to the vineyard. His first vintage is scented, with bright and lush dark red-berry fruit, alongside iris and violet florals. The palate is vibrant and juicy, but with a fine-grained grip – nubuck-like tannins that frame the fruit, while there’s a savoury, saline note on the long finish. 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin, Premier Cru, Les Cazetiers: The vines in the Domaine des Chézeaux parcel of Cazetiers are very old, lending additional intensity to this brilliant Premier Cru. The wine is delicate, with chalky minerality and delicate floral perfume that entices on the nose. The palate has an earthy minerality, but that’s complemented by beautifully transparent dark berry fruit. It’s firm in texture, with savoury mineral tannins that balance the wine’s natural juiciness. Effortlessly balanced, long and impressive. Five barrels were produced in 2023. 2023 Griotte-Chambertin, Grand Cru: Griotte-Chambertin is the jewel in Domaine des Chézeaux’s crown, with the largest holding of this small Grand Cru site – renowned for producing gloriously aromatic and elegant wines. Charles van Canneyt’s first vintage is seductive, with sweet spice and just the lightest touch of toast sitting alongside waves of supple red cherry fruit. The wine is bright – offering an instant intensity and fullness, plush and voluptuous, yet with effortless elegance. It’s tight at this nascent stage, but you can see how much more it has to offer, with a structure that deserves time. Smoky tones linger on the long finish. A superb début. *This wine is famously the one that got fraudster Rudy Kurniawan caught, after he was found selling older vintages of Domaine Ponsot Clos Saint-Denis, although the property didn’t produce the Grand Cru prior to taking on the Chézeaux holding in 1982.  Keep an eye out for the first wines from the new Domaine des Chézeaux, which will be released soon; in the meantime, read more about Burgundy 

In 2021, Charles van Canneyt – of Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat – purchased the little-known Domaine des Chézeaux. Ahead of the release of his first vintage, we dive into the backstory of this Gevrey-Chambertin property – one that is set to be one of the Côte de Nuits’s most exciting new addresses 

Everything you need to know about this Gevrey-Chambertin wine estate, now owned by Charles van Canneyt of Domaine Hudelot-Noellat  

The new Domaine des Chezeaux, Gevrey-Chambertin 

The new Domaine des Chézeaux       

It’s a damp and foggy morning when I arrive once again in the very quiet streets of Auxey-Duresses for my annual pilgrimage to taste the new Maison Leroy Collection. Last year Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy was in Monaco, so I’m looking forward to seeing and tasting with her again – on what happens to be her daughter’s birthday. Two dogs rush out to greet me eagerly – the 13-year-old black poodle Nine and five-year-old Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen Olga, both quickly quietening down once appeased with some gentle pats. Madame, meanwhile, stands behind them, as elegant and unassuming as ever.   Talking briefly about the state of the market, she repeats how the most important thing is the happiness of our clients. It was at the forefront of her mind when she decided on the wines in this year’s collection, which is dominated by the 2017 and 2018 vintages, with the oldest wine from 2011. It’s good to mix things up, she tells me. After last year’s extensive library release with a flurry of back-vintages, this year she wanted to give the youngsters a chance to shine.  She describes 2018 as a more complete vintage, there is more wine, more matière than 2017; nonetheless 2017 is more refined and delicate, somehow more approachable. We talk about what makes a “grand vin” and she says: “La qualité, c’est les rendements.” (“Quality, it’s the yield.”) Taking Aligoté as an example, she explains that she’ll rarely make as much as 20hl/ha for the Domaine Leroy and Domaine d’Auvenay Aligoté – and for her that’s the limit for producing a high-quality wine. It is impossible to make a good Aligoté at 40hl/ha, she argues – and as she knows from tasting those watery, dilute wines. “I’d actually rather drink water,” she confesses. It’s no secret that her Aligoté is special: and Gilles Desprez (Bize-Leroy’s right-hand man) notes how he was once blown away by a bottle of 1999 D’Auvenay Aligoté served to him blind – a wine that those around the table all thought was a Grand Cru white.  There’s no better judge of a wine than blind tasting – as Bize-Leroy knows. To this day, she blind-tastes everything that makes its way into bottle under the Maison Leroy label. She was recently tasting some 2024s for the range and notes how it’s easy to find a great Nuits-Saint-Georges or Gevrey-Chambertin, but is too often disappointed with Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny – struggling to uncover wines in these villages that are worthy of the Leroy seal of approval.  Our tasting begins with the reds this year, starting with an array of 2018s, sampled from south to north, “dans le sens de la Côte” (along the Côte), before moving through the 2017s to a 2016, 2015, 2012 and, finally, the oldest wine in this year’s collection, a 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges.  The whites include an appellation that she rarely tastes and one that almost never makes it into the range: Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc. The 2018 in this year’s collection, however, is special – a wine that you wouldn’t be a fool to call Corton-Charlemagne blind, she tells me. And (of course) Bize-Leroy is right: it is sumptuous, with a level of richness and density that far surpasses that of a mere “village”.  With air, it develops further, offering impressive complexity. Madame looks at Gilles: “It’s unfortunate we don’t have any Corton here to compare,” she says. Gilles confirms there isn’t any to hand while she considers the wine in front of her, before insisting – “Are you sure we don’t have any here?” The message is understood: Gilles says there may be some in another building and sets off to find it.   We keep chatting, tasting the 2018 Auxey-Duresses, a little shy after the 2018 Bourgogne Blanc (in her words: “the best Bourgogne Blanc we ever had”) and the superb Savigny. I ask if there are any wines she buys every year – an idea she’s fast to reject: she doesn’t have any contracts, each wine is selected purely on its quality in that specific vintage. I clarify that I meant if there were specific vineyards that she particularly likes, and finds herself buying year in, year out – and says that both Meursault Gouttes d’Or and Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot are certainly favourites, although it all comes down to how they taste.   Gilles comes back with an unmarked bottle, immediately recognisable by its shape as Domaine Leroy. He is out of breath (earning some teasing, but also having run up and down 200 stairs to retrieve the bottle in question). The wine – a 2018 Corton-Charlemagne from the property – is quickly opened and served. It is typical Leroy: the nose is slightly muted, with some reduction and the popcorn-like notes that you often find in Bize-Leroy’s whites. On the palate, this is what you call packed: I have rarely found such concentration in a Corton-Charlemagne, even in ripe vintages chez Leroy. Madame states that she thinks many would call this a red if served totally blind, given its “matière”. “This is a grand vin,” she says. She explains how special the plot is, at the top of the hill, above her Corton Renardes: “C’est un terroir à rouge.” (“It’s a red terroir.”)   Going back to the Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc seems like a pointless exercise after the Corton-Charlemagne – but is far from it. The Savigny has benefited from warming up and being open for an hour. In fact, it is far from ridiculous to compare it to its grander sibling. Indeed, Madame Bize-Leroy pauses over it, saying she finds the Savigny more balanced – the wine feeling beautifully layered, yet not heavy or dense. It is by far the best Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc I have had the chance to try and – as proven by this comparison – would rival most Corton-Charlemagne. Of course, the 2018 Domaine Leroy Corton-Charlemagne is a baby – a wine built to age that will need years before being approachable and Bize-Leroy herself confirms that it won’t be released anytime soon. It has everything to be an exceptional wine in the future, but the Savigny is the one to drink now.  This is my 10th year at FINE+RARE and it’s relationships like this one that define our business: having the chance to share a moment with one of Burgundy’s legendary winemakers, talking openly and honestly about two of her wines, is truly special. Some are fast to dismiss Maison Leroy as “just” Bize-Leroy’s négociant label, perhaps out of ignorance or lack of exposure to the range. I can’t pretend these wines are cheap, but I also can’t pretend that Madame Leroy is like other winemakers. Her nose is remarkable, her access far-reaching, and the resulting wines one-of-a-kind. I can only admire this 93-year-old woman, the way she describes her wines, her humbleness, not to mention the wines that carry her name.  Tasting the 2025 Maison Leroy Collection 2018 Bourgogne Blanc: Maison Leroy’s 2018 Bourgogne Blanc is extremely expressive. Almost exuberant on the nose, it shows concentration, toasted almonds, juicy blood orange and verbena. The palate is equally impressive – and I would be easy to mistake this for a very good Meursault blind. Similarly to its red counterpart, the wine has gained in depth on the palate since we last tasted it. It is lively and expressive, yet with a signature fatness that’s so enjoyable. Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy tells me she has rarely, if ever, had a Bourgogne Blanc of this calibre – and we can only agree at this stage! Drink 2025-2031. 2018 Meursault: The 2018 Meursault from Maison Leroy is less immediately expressive than the Bourgogne Blanc, tasted just before – but don’t let that deceive you. You can feel the tension and seriousness of this wine, with hints of flinty minerality on the nose. The palate is concentrated and refined, nicely balanced and nuanced, with a creamy complexity. Compared to its Bourgogne sibling, this is clearly of a different calibre – a more aristocratic wine with greater density. Although approachable now, it will benefit from another three to five years in the cellar to express its full potential. Drink 2027-2035. 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc: Maison Leroy’s 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc is packed on the nose. Lovely brioche notes are underwritten by bruised apple and brighter citrus fruit, with delicate touches of lemon blossom. As the wine aerates, it keeps building in density, with layer upon layer – making for a wine that is beautifully fleshy and inviting. On the palate, the wine is so immediately rich and profound – it would be impossible to call this a village wine blind. It has the signature richness of a Corton-Charlemagne, perfectly balanced between power and tension. This is by far the best Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc I have ever tasted and would be head and shoulders above most Corton-Charlemagne you can find on the market. This is drinking beautifully now but has everything to age effortlessly. Drink 2025-2040. 2018 Auxey-Duresses: Coming from a terroir that can sometime be a bit too flamboyant or invasive, Maison Leroy’s 2018 Auxey-Duresses feels very discreet after the Savigny-lès-Beaune. With notes of fresh almonds and a hint of reduction on the nose, this feels a bit muted. On the palate, the wine clearly has the concentration of the vintage, yet is quite elegant and restrained with a hint of white pepper. This is lovely but will need a few more years to be approachable. Drink 2028-2035. 2018 Bourgogne Rouge: Last tasted in February 2022, Leroy’s 2018 Bourgogne Rouge still displays a very charming, delicately perfumed nose that oscillates between dried rose petals and little red berries, but it seems to have gained in weight and density. It retains beautiful acidity balancing the concentration of the vintage, the finish is clean and vibrant. This is one of our favourite renditions of the cuvée in recent years, youthful and drinking beautifully now, this should keep evolving positively for another seven to 10 years. Drink 2025-2035. 2018 Monthélie: On the nose Maison Leroy’s 2018 Monthélie has beautiful notes of violets wrapped up in a mix of red and black berries, especially blackcurrant. Those very pure and delicate floral aromas carry through to the palate, accompanied by tannins that are very subtle, almost with a hint of sucrosity that makes one salivate. This is a very complete wine that outperforms in this warmer vintage: a wonderful expression of this terroir that, for me, displays the elegance of Volnay with a weightless mouth-feel. Drink 2027-2037. 2018 Volnay: Served just after the 2018 Monthélie, Maison Leroy’s 2018 Volnay has a slightly more discreet nose. It’s perfumed and all about finesse yet a bit shy at this stage. On the palate, there is good concentration and precision, but it does not provide the crunch and freshness that you’d expect at this stage. This is surely elegant and refined, but lacks that little twist that will surely come with a few more years in the cellar. Drink 2028-2040. 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune: As with its white sibling, Maison Leroy’s 2018 Savigny-lès-Beaune could be mistaken for a Corton blind. It has such a concentrated, solar nose with a darker fruit profile. There’s density on the palate too, the wine fleshy and rich, but not heavy. It’s nicely balanced, with delicate tannin structure and a precise finish. It’s as juicy as it is approachable. Drink 2027-2037. 2017 Gevrey-Chambertin: This was one of the highlights of the 2022 Maison Leroy Collection when it was first released. The wine has retained all its depth, complexity and power, but has shut down a little bit. It is packed with dense dark cherries, hints of sweet spice and forest floor. On the palate the wine offers an enjoyable, mouth-coating, generous and balanced structure, yet the wine feels a bit muted compared to where it was three years ago. This is nonetheless offering a very long finish with fresher note lingering. This is surely a grand village Gevrey that will simply need to be forgotten in the cellar for a few years! Drink 2030-2040. 2017 Pommard: Maison Leroy’s 2017 Pommard speaks of its terroir, combining rich, brooding, ripe blackberry, with hints of blackcurrant and a touch of rusticity, lifted by the freshness and precision of the vintage. On the palate, it has a firm but delicate structure with chewy tannins that are both muscular and velvety. Tasted right after a flight of 2018s, this seems much more approachable (as is often the case with 2017s). The refreshing backbone of acidity drives through the core of the wine, lending a beautiful sappiness to the long finish. Drink 2025-2035. 2016 Santenay, Premier Cru, La Comme: Immediately expressive, Maison Leroy’s 2016 Santenay Premier Cru La Comme comes from this underrated terroir, on the southern border of Chassagne-Montrachet. The charming, multifaceted nose oscillates between raspberry and juicy cherry with a hint of liquorice. The wine is mouth-coating; you can feel the substance here, with a lovely texture that remains delicate and refined. This clearly shows the concentration of the vintage and its tiny yields, but it is all wrapped in a very elegant mouth-feel – creating a wine of great balance. It’s in such a lovely spot now that this is hard to spit out! Drink 2025-2035. 2015 Chorey-lès-Beaune: Packed on the nose, Maison Leroy’s 2015 Chorey-lès-Beaune is quite shy at first, but with a bit of swirling you start to notice how dense and saturated this wine is, with aromas of ripe blueberries, blackberries and a hint of spice (cinnamon maybe?). On the palate, it is concentrated with mouth-coating tannins and layers of berry fruit – raspberry, strawberry and blueberry. This has a lot to say and offer, with an impressively persistent finish, but will benefit from a few more years’ cellaring to reveal its full potential. Drink 2028-2040. 2012 Côte de Nuits Villages: Made with fruit from around Nuits-Saint-Georges and Corgoloin, Leroy’s 2012 Côte de Nuits Villages is always a bit backward on the nose and slightly austere. But it’s also elegant and delicate, the floral notes combining with tertiary notes. On the palate, this feels like it is in a slightly awkward phase, very dense with soft, integrated tannins yet somehow disjointed between the rich dark fruit and a tertiary character. I would leave this for a few more years before revisiting. Drink 2030-2040. 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges: Finely perfumed, Leroy’s 2011 Nuits-Saint-Georges offers a delicate nose of mixed red berries supported by more earthy notes, some pot-pourri and a hint of spice. On the palate, it’s concentrated and charming, but with air opens further and shows its density, still youthful for a 14-year-old village wine. There’s a hint of rusticity towards the finish that makes one salivate. This is far from the austere expectation one may have for this combination of vintage and appellation. It’s not reached its drinking plateau but is perfectly approachable now. Drink 2025-2040. The new Maison Leroy collection will be released soon: you can see all the wines in the 2025 collection here. Please contact your Account Manager to register interest. 

Each year, our Buying + Partner Director Corentin Margier visits Maison Leroy in Auxey-Duresses to sample the new releases. Here, he reports on his tasting with “Lalou”, the legendary matriarch of the Leroy empire  

Ahead of the release of the 2025 Maison Leroy Collection, we visit Lalou Bize-Leroy to taste with the legendary matriarch and winemaker 

Lalou Bize-Leroy: a living legend – Burgundy’s matriarch 

Lalou Bize-Leroy: a living legend 

Alphonse Gros was the first in his family to settle in Vosne-Romanée, in 1830, and purchased the monopole Clos des Réas, still worked by the family today. His son Louis-Gustave took over the business and bought more vineyards. He married and – by the mid-19th century – the wines were bottled under their combined name, as Domaine Gros-Guenaud. In 1882, he purchased two hectares of Richebourg – vineyard land that remains under the Gros family today. Louis-Gustave’s son, Jules Gros, inherited the business from his father and, similarly to his father, labelled the wines under his and his wife’s name, as Domaine Gros-Renaudot. In 1920, he purchased two parcels of Clos Vougeot, later adding Les Grands Echezeaux and three hectares of Echézeaux, in the lieu-dit Les Loächausses.  Louis Gros, Jules’s son, took over in due course, and bottled wines under Domaine Louis Gros and later Domaine Louis Gros & Fils. He passed away in 1951, leaving four children: Jean, François, Gustave and Colette, who continued running the family estate until 1963, when they divvied up the property.  Gustave and Colette joined their shares together to create Domaine Gros Frère & Soeur.  Jean and François worked together, making wine under the name Gros Père & Fils, but divided their holdings in the early 1970s. Jean established his own estate, Domaine Jean Gros.  François continued to produce wine under the Gros Père & Fils label (négoce bottlings), but also under Domaine François Gros. In 1978, he stopped bottling wine due to health problems, and for a decade all the wine was sold to a négociant, with both the domaine or négoce ceasing production. Despite previously studying the arts, his daughter Anne Gros shifted too winemaking and revived the family domaine in 1988, under the name Domaine Anne & François Gros, changing this to Domaine Anne Gros in 1995.  Jean had three children: Bernard, Michel and Anne-Françoise. Bernard Gros took over Domaine Gros Frère & Soeur, while Michel Gros starting making wine under his own name at Domaine Michel Gros. Anne-Françoise established Domaine A.-F. Gros (she later married François Parent of Pommard, who brought family vines with him to the operation). The next generation is now taking over, and even setting up their own estates – with Anne Gros’s son Paul Tollot-Gros having made his first handful of vintages under his own name.    The Gros estates today  Domaine Gros Frère & Soeur: Bernard Gros has now handed the running of this domaine over to his son, Vincent Gros.  Domaine Michel Gros: Michel Gros is still at the helm of this estate, although his son Pierre is now working alongside his father.  Domaine A.-F. Gros: This estate, with a large winery in Beaune as well as a property in Pommard, is now run by brother-and-sister Caroline and Mathias Parent, with Caroline in charge of the commercial side of the business and Mathias running the vineyards and winery.  Domaine Anne Gros: Anne Gros is still in charge at the estate, but her children – Julie, Paul and Marine – are all involved. Paul has now also set up his own label (see below). She also has a project in the Minervois, under the name Jean-Paul Tollot & Anne Gros  Paul Tollot-Gros: Anne Gros’s son, Paul Tollot-Gros, set up his own label as of the 2022 vintage.   

There are several different Gros estates in Burgundy – but how are they all related? Here, we dive into their vinous dynasty

There are many different Gros estates in Burgundy – but how are they related? We dive into Gros Frere & Soeur, Michel Gros, Anne Gros, A-F Gros and more

The Gros family domaines in Burgundy 

Untangling the Gros family’s estates in Burgundy

Our team spent several weeks exploring the 2023 vintage in Burgundy – visiting, tasting and talking to a range of producers up and down the Côte d’Or. Here, we offer a run-down of the year by producer, from north to south, reporting on how each fared and our pick of their range this year

A run-down of the Burgundy 2023 vintage wines en primeur by producer: from Fourrier to Lafon via Bernstein, Lamarche, Lambrays, Duroche and Hudelot-Noellat 

Burgundy 2023 vintage by producer 

Burgundy 2023: by producer

“The only thing more fun than drinking wine is buying wine,” says Allan Frischman, our new Vice President of Global Client Reserves, arching an eyebrow and laughing. He should know – he’s been working in the wine business since the early 1990s, with the vast majority of that spent sourcing, studying, authenticating and selling fine wine collections for a leading auction house. As of this month, he’ll be working to develop our network of reservists and their portfolios – allowing our clients to both sell and buy even more than before, giving us – and you – access to the world’s finest (and deepest) cellars. Beyond this, he’ll be finessing local pricing for each market we work in and helping manage clients’ wine storage – a job for which he is uniquely qualified. Frischman grew up in New Jersey and never planned to get into wine – but he took a part-time job at college (“to pay for beer”, he confesses) in a wine shop. The shop’s storage system was divided by country and region, with a warren-like basement that he needed to navigate, finding the right bin for new stocks. Reading about the different appellations, and using his staff discount to buy the odd bottle, got him interested – but it was a bottle of 1975 Ch. Talbot, tasted at Mary Ewing-Mulligan MW’s International Wine Center that hooked him: “At that point, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.”  The economics graduate was working at Manhattan’s Morell & Co. when, in 1994, the laws changed. For the first time since Prohibition, wine auctions were permitted to take place in New York State. “I didn’t know anything at all about auctions,” says Frischman – but it didn’t stop him jumping headfirst into something new, organising the state’s first commercial wine auction since 1920. “I didn’t know if we were going to get 10 bidders or 1,000,” he tells me. He shouldn’t have worried, for that auction was met with such enthusiasm that he walked away from the event on cloud nine, confident that he had found his calling.  In the 30 years since, he’s seen the auction business transformed. The 1994 law change created a new hub for wine’s secondary market, with New York rapidly becoming a rival for its traditional heartland in London – and the Big Apple rapidly added its own signature. Until then, auctions were staid affairs, dominated by trade buyers with little action beyond the raising of paddles in muted crowds – in Frischman’s words, “something dreary that dragged on for 10 hours”.  But Zachys – one of the auction houses that popped up in New York – added American flair, a touch of Broadway jazz hands to turn auctions into events, gathering bidders at round tables with great food and wine. Traditionalists said it wouldn’t work – but they were wrong. No longer were auctions purely a way to buy wine, they became fun – they became a place for wine lovers to gather, eat, drink and be seen. Higher attendance meant more bids, higher hammer prices – and more consignments that in turn brought more business, and a shift from trade to individuals.  The late 2000s brought challenges. “The Dow Jones was tumbling and it looked like the world was about to collapse,” Frischman tells me, looking back at the worldwide recession. “It was terrifying and of course people stopped buying wine.” But as Frischman rapidly learnt, people were waiting for the bottom of the market – and then they started buying again. At the same time, Hong Kong abolished import duty on wine (initially halved in 2007 and removed entirely in 2008) – and, like New York in 1994, instantly became a new centre for the wine trade. “The Asian market evolved almost over days,” remarks Frischman. “It became extremely sophisticated very quickly.” American auction houses started opening offices in Hong Kong. “For a few years, Hong Kong was just chewing up all the wine and the big hammer prices were all [there].”  The most recent shift in the world of auctioneering has been the advent of real-time, online bidding – one forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. “There was a perception that it would discourage people to show up in the sale room and would also discourage people from leaving bids in advance,” Frischman says, explaining why the industry was perhaps a little slow to embrace the online sphere. Interestingly, however, he anticipates that before online bidding was introduced, maybe only 10% of lots went to bidders physically in the room. With consumers stranded at home, and the technology already up to scratch, online auctions rocketed – and opened the market to an even broader range of consumers, with bidding wars between wine lovers in Brazil, Singapore, London, New York, Hong Kong and beyond now the norm.  As auction houses realised that online auctions worked, the need for events and associated spend dropped – and the auction style established by Zachys in the 1990s has become significantly less common. You might argue that this also heralds the end of the auctioneer – but even online companies have retained the compère, the familiar patter still something that bidders want.   It isn’t just where and how wine was selling, but which wines were selling that has evolved. In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Frischman notes how the US market centred on Napa’s cult Cabernets, along with wines from the likes Williams Selyem, Ravenswood and, of course, Bordeaux’s top names. “[There was] across the board demand for Bordeaux,” Frischman tells me, “but you couldn’t give Burgundy away.” Of course, that’s all changed now – and Burgundy, despite its extremely limited supply, has become the darling of the fine wine scene. As prices have soared for the Côte d’Or’s top wines, wine lovers have started looking elsewhere, to Italy (Barolo, Barbaresco and some Brunello), Madeira (especially older vintages) and the Northern Rhône (Côte-Rôtie, Cornas and Saint-Joseph) – but none have the liquidity of Bordeaux. “They [the Bordelais] don’t get enough credit for the sheer, mind-boggling amount of great wine they’re able to put out every year,” says Frischman.  Over the years, Frischman has become an expert authenticator – the sort of knowledge that can only be gained by handling immense volumes of fine wine, working closely with producers and getting up close and personal with the rarest bottles. In 2006, he went to check over some wines that had been sent to the auction house he then worked for by a young Asian collector. The consignment was significant, worth millions of dollars – but even from across the room, Frischman knew that the wines didn’t look right. Closer inspection only confirmed that the wines looked like fakes – and the auction house turned them away, sending them back to the collector, then a new name on the scene, Rudy Kurniawan. A couple of years later, he got a call from the FBI’s Jim Wynn, asking if he would be an expert witness in a wine fraud case against Kurniawan, who had – by that point – become prolific. “I inspected, I don’t know, 40 bankers boxes of stuff that they’d gotten from his home, stamps for corks, fake labels, fake import strips – all kinds of stuff,” he says. In a warehouse in Queens, he studied the evidence – “going through bottle after bottle after bottle and writing a report about why I thought that they were fake”. It was – and still is – the biggest wine forgery case to have ever taken place, and Frischman, along with fellow authentication expert Michael Egan, was essential to proving Kurniawan’s guilt.  Wine authentication has become an essential component of wine collecting, and a key reason to work with trusted merchants. There are people who suggest that as much as 10% of wine on the secondary market is fake, but – in Frischman’s view, having handled fine wine for over 30 years – “That’s a substantial overestimate.” Despite such claims, forgery has only become more sophisticated, and it’s important, he says, to work with someone who knows what they’re looking at. “You want someone who is experienced to look at the bottle and who is empowered to say, ‘I don’t like it – we’re not offering it.’” There’s a big difference, he explains, between being convinced something is fake, and being convinced something is real – and you always want the person checking wines you’re buying to be in the latter camp.  The wine business is a people business – and he’s been lucky to spend three decades getting to know the world’s foremost collectors, spending time rustling through cellars, lugging his fair share of cases in and out of vans, and cradling bottles of elusive vintages and cuvées. Beyond this privilege, he’s often found himself on the receiving end of collectors’ generosity – recognising a fellow enthusiast’s passion. When I ask him if there’s a bottle that stands out, beyond the 1975 Talbot that was his hook into the industry, his eyes mist over. It was, he tells me, on a trip to Tokyo, at a remarkable dinner that included some incredible wines, including the fabled 1947 Cheval Blanc. But it was a bottle of 1978 La Romanée-Conti from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti that stole the show: it was “breathtaking, magical”, he says. “I was practically brought to tears.” Until that moment, he’d never necessarily understood why collectors kept this prized cuvée, and didn’t sell it to fund their La Tâche or Romanée-Saint-Vivant – but this bottle made him realise just why people don’t. “This wine was perfect,” he says.  It’s easy, perhaps, to imagine the auctioneering world is over-run with wine investors, but that’s far from what Frischman has found. “The vast majority, regardless of what they say they’re doing, are buying to drink,” he says. On paper, that may not make sense – after all, who needs 30,000 bottles of wine? But that, as Frischman and any wine obsessive knows, is the collector’s mentality – and, deciding to sell, despite owning more wine than could possibly be consumed in a lifetime, is much harder than buying another case or 10.  When Frischman first started auctioning wine, he recalls talking to his father, who wondered if there was enough fine wine to sustain a career. The beauty, Frischman, now knows, is that there’s a new vintage every year – beyond that, and as he’s seen over the past 30 years, the wine world is constantly shifting, with an ever-expanding range of regions and producers. And he’s evolving with the industry, making a move of his own and bringing his expertise to FINE+RARE. We can’t wait to see what he’ll do. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell or anything else, contact Allan Frischman directly at allan.frischman@frw.co.uk

After two decades at one of the world’s leading auction houses, Allan Frischman has joined our team, as Vice President of Global Client Reserves. We caught up with him to dive into the world of auctioneering, his 30 years in the business and his new role

After two decades at one of the USA’s leading auction houses, auctioneer and wine authentication expert Allan Frischman has joined our team

Introducing Allan Frischman

Hammer time: Allan Frischman

Few people have been lucky enough to be as immersed in Burgundy’s finest wines as Martin Donatsch. His father bought a pallet of top Burgundy, including those of Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC) and Armand Rousseau, every year from the early 1970s onwards. Martin’s birth in 1978 – a fantastic vintage in Burgundy – only encouraged his father to buy more, and Martin, now in his early 40s, has been enjoying wines from the family collection ever since. Just last week, he uncorked a 1978 DRC Echézeaux. This immersion has provided him with an extraordinary understanding of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – something that has doubtless helped him become one of the world’s great emerging winemaking talents. Donatsch is one of a small number of producers growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and the native Completer grape in Bündner Herrschaft in Switzerland. This tiny Swiss valley, for the time being, remains largely unknown – but, as Donatsch certainly believes, it may just be one of the world’s last great regions for fine wine production.The altitude (500 to 700 metres above sea-level) sees the vines flower a week later than is typical in Burgundy, yet picking dates are three to four weeks later. This provides a much longer growing season, allowing for complex flavours and aromas to develop in the grapes. Despite the altitude, the grapes reach good levels of ripeness thanks to the warm, dry wind – known locally as a “foehn”, that sweeps through the valley. Unlike Burgundy, autumns here are dry, so there is rarely pressure to pick before rain arrives, allowing for additional hang-time. The altitude keeps the acidity high, offsetting the naturally slightly higher alcohol (typically around 14%), meaning the wines never feel overly alcoholic. While Bündner Herrschaft has been home to Pinot Noir since the 15th century, Donatsch – now in the hands of the fifth generation – has pioneered the quality revolution in the region. Martin’s father Thomas Donatsch was not only the first to – then illegally – plant Chardonnay in 1975, but also the first to introduce French barriques to Switzerland, influenced by his vigneron friend André Noblet, the winemaker at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from 1945 to 1986. In the early 1970s, Thomas – a young 20-year-old about to take on the family winery – set off to learn from the best. Obsessed with Burgundy from a young age, he knocked on the door unannounced at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. In a fortuitous set of circumstances, Noblet had just returned from his first ever holiday (in Gran Canaria) and the first extended time away from his beloved wines. He had missed his wine cellar so much during the trip, he couldn’t wait to return. Finding the young Donatsch sitting by the door and desperate to reacquaint himself with his wines, Noblet invited Thomas to spend the afternoon with him tasting the different cuvées from barrel. Martin believes his dad gained Noblet’s trust by initially criticising DRC’s Montrachet 1968. Tasting the wine Donatsch reportedly said, “There is no way this wine could come from the great Montrachet!” A little precocious, perhaps: fortunately Noblet agreed it wasn’t his finest vintage, but the result of experiments in the winery. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, with Donatsch returning to the DRC cellars every year. On each visit, Noblet would always pour him a glass of Montrachet 1968 and ask his opinion before tasting any of the other wines. It wasn’t long before Donatsch was buying a pallet of Grand Cru Burgundy every year (at that time a bottle of La Tâche was just over £35 a bottle). Noblet also started to help Donatsch improve his Pinot Noir – first by giving Thomas his first three French barriques. These weren’t just any old barrels though, they had previously held La Tâche and were made by François Frères – who at the time had just two customers, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Henri Boillot. Donatsch took the barrels back to Switzerland, and the winery has been using François Frères barriques ever since. I asked Martin why the introduction of French barriques in Switzerland was such a revolution for the region. At the time, he says, the Swiss wine schools were obsessed with cleanliness – teaching the importance of filtering wines, using protective winemaking methods and using stainless steel tanks even for the red wines. The use of barrels was the opposite; it meant no additional filtering and a more oxidative environment. Donatsch believes the introduction of barriques around the world revolutionised fine wine. Angelo Gaja was the first to do it in Italy; Torres the first in Spain; Mondavi in the US; and Keller in Germany. But Thomas Donatsch was doing this 10 years before any of them, thanks to the influence of André Noblet, as well as Jean-Bernard Delmas – the winemaker at Château Haut-Brion, another of Thomas Donatsch’s influential friends.  Speaking with Martin Donatsch, you can’t help but feel he has got all his priorities in order. The small size of his winery means he can control every aspect of production, while benefitting from the variety that a life in wine can offer. Producing just 35,000 bottles a year means that when he is not in the vineyard tending his crop, he is in the winery, or fulfilling orders and redesigning his website (graphic design is another passion of his). Being one of the country’s most prestigious winemakers he sells his wine into the country’s top restaurants and luxury hotels, who can’t get enough of his wine. Donatsch’s annual release of wines sells out in just hours. While this is a great sign of his talents, it is also why many people outside of Switzerland have never heard of, let alone experienced, the world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the winery. Despite the demand for the Donatsch wines, there are no plans to expand: firstly because the authorities won’t allow it, but second because Martin loves the “human” size of the business and doesn’t want to lose that. Martin is, however, keen for more people outside of Switzerland to taste them. Beyond the tiny volumes that make it as far as export, to source these extraordinary wines you’ll have to (when one can) visit the winery yourself. You may just, knocking on the cellar door unannounced, receive a welcome as warm as young Thomas Donatsch did at Romanée-Conti.  Browse the latest releases from Domaine Donatsch or explore more Editorial

There is such domestic demand for the wines of Domaine Donatsch that they are rarely seen outside Switzerland. Tucked in amongst the Alps, this property makes world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that gives Burgundy a run for its money. Gavin Smith explores the extraordinary site 

Winemaker and Domaine Donatsch owner Martin Donatsch on his world-class Swiss Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that give Burgundy a run for its money.

Exploring Donatsch's world-class Swiss wines

The high life: Martin Donatsch

Romanée Conti

Vosne Romanée

Côte de Nuits

Burgundy

France

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You can arrange collection from our Retail store on 22nd Floor, 8 Wyndham Street, Central Hong Kong.
Collection times are between 9:30am-13:00 and 14:00-18:00pm, Monday to Friday. We are closed on public holidays.

You can arranged collection from our warehouse STI INTERNAZIONALE SPA, on Viale del Lavoro, 57, 37051 Bovolone, Verona.
Pick-up hours are between 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM, Monday to Friday. We are closed on public holidays.

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This item is at FINE+RARE, available for storage, transfer or delivery.
 Most UK deliveries can be made within 3-5 working days, with next day delivery for London;
 an exact date will be available when arranging delivery.
 International deliveries have longer lead-times, please contact us for details.

This item is at FINE+RARE HOME Hong Kong, available for delivery or local pickup. Most Hong Kong deliveries can be made within 3 working days, an exact date will be available when arranging delivery. International deliveries have longer lead-times, please contact us for details.

Wines sold en primeur will be released from the producer after bottling, typically 18 months after the so-called campaign ends. Your wine will then be stored by FINE+RARE in a bonded warehouse until you decide to take delivery.

We will source this item from our network of suppliers and arrange shipment to FINE+RARE.
 The lead-time depends on many variables, but 6-12 weeks is an average estimate.
 Once your order is confirmed, we'll keep you updated on its ETA.
 Every item is checked on arrival by our expert team, with photographs available on request (please note that charges may apply).

Romanée Conti

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