REGION: Burgundy

Guy Balland loves great Burgundy and feeds his passion by buying great vineyards in the Côte de Beaune. He leases out parts of his rare parcels to some of the most hallowed names in all of Burgundy, keeping a portion of his choicest sites for wine under his own label.

Domaine Bernard Dubois is a tiny domaine of 7 hectares in the village of Chorey-Les Beaune. The owner and winemaker, Jacques Dubois, is the 5th generation of his family to make wine continuing his family’s tradition of making terroir-pure wines from their small parcels around Chorey and Savigny.

Vincent Bitouzet’s ancestral roots in Burgundy cover the last two centuries--the Bitouzets were one of the first of the family domaines in this region to bottle their wines. Today Vincent and his son practice organic farming on 12 hectares to produce classic Burgundian delights.

The Boudin domaine is found in La Chapelle-Vaupelteigne, one of the great hamlets in Chablis, just across the river from the 1er Cru Fourchaume. The Boudin family farms prime sites including 5 hectares of Fourchaume. Run by Francis Boudin, this is an outpost for artisanal, hand-crafted Chablis.

From vines just above the village of Pommard, the dynamic Luc Bourgogne (his real name!) is making silky, hillside Pinot Noir from this beautiful, Pommard-like Hautes-Côtes site. He is the fourth generation of the Bourgogne family to make wines here, having taken over full-time in 2012.

Cedric Chêne is the 5th generation to make wine at his family’s estate in the village of Berzé la Ville. Since taking charge in 1973, he has focused on improving the farming practices of the domaine. The results are stunning wines that are laser-pure expressions of high-altitude Chardonnay.

After training with Vincent Dureuil, one of Burgundy's finest vignerons, Maxime Cottenceau inherited 2.8ha of family vines in Montagny and launched his own domaine. Like Dureuil, Maxime works organically and all his wines go through 20 months of elevage, leading to textured and scintillating wines.

Domaine de L’Arlot is one of the seminal properties in Nuits St. Georges. Run by the talented Geraldine Godot, L’Arlot continues with its biodynamic farming and its classic, elegant style of terroir driven wines that provide the sort of divine pleasure only classic Burgundy delivers.

Denis Mortet was an iconic figure in Burgundy who died tragically in 2006. After taking over, Denis’ son Arnaud has continued his father’s legacy while also evolving the style of the wines with less extraction and less new wood, becoming one of the ongoing leaders of the Jayer school in Burgundy.

There are 20 ha of vineyards, all within Mercurey. Ninety percent of the plantings are Pinot Noir; the remainder is Chardonnay. The vineyards are managed in as natural a manner as possible. Vines are pruned short, no herbicides are used, and natural compost fertilizer is rarely applied.