BOURGOGNE BLANC

Domaine Dureuil-Janthial is simply the leading domaine of the Côte Chalonnaise. What is more, the astonishing Vincent Dureuil is equally adept at making both white and red wines. Vincent inherited from the Janthial side of his family, who have been in Rully since the eighteenth century. Vincent and his wife Céline took over in 1994. As they say 'because wine is first grown in the vineyard, we have chosen to respect the land and let the soils and vineyards live, to produce committed and accurate wines, of great purity and a frank personality.'

The domaine now extends to 20 hectares, 17 in the Côte Chalonnaise (primarily Rully and Mercurey) with 3 hectares in the Côte d'Or, including vines inherited by Céline in Nuits Saint Georges, and some inherited by Vincent in Puligny. The domaine was originally certified organic in 2009, but after short harvests in 2012 and 2013, Vincent was forced by a late attack of mildew in 2016 to spray with fungicide. The result was that he saved 5 hectares out of the 20, but lost his certification. Stubbornly he immediately set about the three years of 'conversion' and is now certified again.

At the harvest all the grapes are hand-picked into small cases for transport to the winery. The white wines are pressed hard - although he is clear that for this the grapes have to be ripe and in perfect condition, he believes it's necessary with Chardonnay to get into the solid matter of the grape. The juice is allowed to oxidise under the press and S02 is only added 12 hours after the pressing, so that a dark brown liquid, after the settling out, is what goes into barrel where it will be clarified by the fermentation. The barrels are also chosen with great care - they are there to bring out the minerality, to add a touch of density, and they are minimally toasted. The whites get up to 20% new wood, the reds up to 30%.

The vinification of the reds takes place after an intense selection in the vineyard and at the sorting table. For now, despite experiments with some whole-bunch fermentations, Vincent destems almost everything. The grapes go into old open-topped wooden vats and are held at 6C for around eight days of cold maceration before a classic fermentation that reaches up to 34C. After the fermentation they go into barrel for a year, before bottling by March of the year after.

Watch the video introducing Domaine Vincent Dureuil-Janthial.