Ez Blanches (50% whole-bunch, 1959) takes this character a step further with greater complexity and depth of flavor. Ez Blanches lies above Clos des Chênes, rising to 1,150ft (350m) at the tree line and bordering Monthelie. Hence it is separated by little more than half a mile (1km) as the crow flies from the Monthelie premier cru Les Duresses vineyard, yet there is a clear difference in style. From his 0.17ha (0.4-acre) holding, Vincent produces about four barrels of notably perky wine with a mild tannic grip. Finally, the Volnay Premier Cru Le Ronceret, downslope neighbor of Champans, marches to a sterner beat, courtesy of dense fruit, firm structure, and impressive depth.


the year in oak, to “marry” during the six months in vat. The result is a wine of grace and harmony, elegance and poise— an aristocratic wine, fully deserving of its grand cru status. Its polished pearl of flavor challenges the vinous lexicon, defying attempts to corral it with mere words. Between these poles of excellence comes a dozen other whites, some of which are made from vines now approaching their centenary, such as the Meursault Les Grands Charrons, planted in 1929, the Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes, planted in 1936, and the Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Referts, a relative youngster from 1949. Speaking of this old-vine heritage, Vincent says, “They are my power but also my responsibility […]. We need to understand the old vines […]. Preserving them is the challenge of my life.” He replants vines as needed, around 1–2% annually, and despite the challenge, he is under no illusion about the great fortune of having such venerable vineyards to work with. As to the wines, the Grands Charrons is smooth and succulent, the Charmes is weightier but carries it lightly, and the Referts is poised and elegant. There is great energy in all of them, but this is harmonious, finessed energy—there isn’t a hair out of place. Where elegance is the hallmark of Vincent’s white wines,


the reds carry a more vigorous flavor profile—a firmer handshake, as it were. He is a lover of whole-bunch fermentation, usually in the range of 30–70%. “I always use some whole bunches, though I only decide at the sorting table […]. They bring flavors of spice and dried flowers, as well as greater freshness on the palate […]. I like to play with whole bunches. I layer them, millefeuille fashion.” This means the stainless-steel vat is filled alternately with whole bunches and destemmed grapes, after which the temperature is held at 54–57°F (12–14°C) for a few days of maceration before it is allowed to rise naturally for fermentation to begin, though he never lets it exceed 82°F (28°C). He relies principally on remontage for extraction, with sparing use of pigeage, perhaps three in three weeks. Thereafter, élevage is in standard 228-liter pièces from Chassin, Tonnellerie de Mercurey, and Berthomieu, with a modest proportion of new barrels, perhaps 15%.


The resulting wines display an abundance of ripe fruit,


intense rather than concentrated, with a lovely waft of sweet incense running through them like a family DNA. The Auxey- Duresses Les Closeaux—made with 40% whole bunches from 1955 vines—is shot through with gentle spice, while the Volnay


Opposite: Vincent among his barrels, only 10% new, which he fills with “plenty of solids,” stirred between alcoholic and malolactic fermentations.


Experience, expertise, and maturity It is too early to cast definitive judgment on Domaine Pierre Vincent, but it is not casting a hostage to fortune to say that Vincent and his partners have hit the ground running, thanks to three significant factors. First, the good standing of Domaine des Terres de Velles before they bought it. Though it is a young domaine, having been founded in 2009, it quickly established a sound reputation, as Jasper Morris MW comments in his book Inside Burgundy: “These are smart wines in both colours, offering a good range of bottles at affordable prices.” And, judging by samples of the 2023 vintage from barrel in July and again in December 2024, smart is about to get smarter. In short, they did not buy a pig in a poke. Second, the impressive age of the vines. As mentioned, for several of the wines above it is not unusual for them to be made from vines that have reached their half-century, with the near-centenarians bringing the average age up to nearly 60. Such a wealth of maturity can be thought of as a vinous trust fund, a deep reservoir of potential waiting to be tapped by a dexterous hand. Third, that hand comes in the shape of Pierre Vincent, whose 20 years’ experience and acknowledged talent as a winemaker make him the perfect custodian for such riches.


Though he evinces no world-conquering ambitions, it


takes only a few minutes in Vincent’s company to note the firm resolve beneath the smiling, youthful features. He is adamant, for example, that he wants to remain solely as a domaine and not follow the “hybrid” model that he says became popular after the meager 2021 harvest, when many domaines supplemented their all-too-modest harvest by buying-in grapes. This practice has continued since, so that today their production is a combination of domaine and négociant wines. In addition—and this is more sensed than explicitly stated— one feels that Vincent has found his comfort zone, that however prestigious it may have been to manage a domaine such as Leflaive, it was not his metier.


And does he hope that someday in the future a few Côte de


Nuits vineyards might be added to his exclusively Côte de Beaune portfolio? “Yes, absolutely!” 


Notes 1. At the time of writing, it was too early to taste the 2024 vintage, but it has already gone down in infamy as one of the most difficult on record. That said, it was quantity more than quality that was badly hit; Vincent’s production was about half that of 2023, but he is quick to point out that, despite the significant reduction, he is in a far more fortunate position than his colleagues in the Côte de Nuits, who suffered much greater losses. “It is low, but it is not a disaster… and the wines have fabulous density of fruit and flavor.”


THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025 | 157


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