History
Alain Burguet is an uncompromising perfectionist, driven to grow the very best grapes and to make Gevrey Chambertin wines that are some of the very best of that celebrated village. From his Bourgogne les Pince Vin to the Chambertin Clos de Beze, they are classic Burgundian "vins de garde." Burguet is a very sturdy individual, a classic Burgundian vigneron. He can come off as gruff, even taciturn and is as hardy and masculine as his wines. Domaine Alain Burguet is a relatively new domaine by Burgundian standards dating back to the horrid 1975 vintage when Alain took over a 2.10 hectare estate in Gevrey by making a sharecopping agreeement with the elderly owner.
It was a bad year to start, but in the 1976 vintage he got it right and ever since has been making wines that surpass their appellations and the best efforts of most of his neighbors. From the beginning he has farmed organically, fermentations are with wild yeasts and there is minimal use of SO2. There is a mural in Alain's cellar that lists every vintage he has produced and whether it was a good year or not. Alain is so confident of his wines that there are very few bad years listed, I think there are only 2 or 3 "annees mauvaises" on the decades long calendar.
Antonio Galloni sums it all up: Jean-Luc and Eric Burguet “continue to put their own personal touches on the wines at their family’s domaine. A focus on biodynamic farming, gentler winemaking, and lower amounts of new oak are all among the recent developments at this small cellar in the heart of Gevrey.”
They strive to continue their father’s legacy of wines that are clean and natural with very little sulfur dioxide, expressive of their terroirs, and above all elegant. The goal for upcoming years is to find vines in a few Côte de Nuits appellations that are 1er Cru and Grand Cru, to further expand their range and to be able to make wines from even more legendary terroirs.