In 1971, Aubert de Villaine, the man at the head of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, bought this Bouzeron property with his wife Pamela. It is in a far smaller setting than in the Côte de Nuits, where the Villaine couple make superb wines, both red and white. He was the great ambassador of the Classification of Burgundy Climats at the World Heritage of Humanity and applies the same methods to the DRC: biodynamic cultivation, natural winemaking, hand-picked and sorted grapes. His nephew Pierre de Benoist gradually took over the Villaine domaine (formerly called A & P de Villaine). The wines at Mercurey, Rully or Bouzero have become amongst the finest on the Côte Chalonnaise.

Bouzeron from Domaine de Villaine boasts the typical lively and fruity characteristics of the Aligoté grape variety. The initial drop is reminiscent of iodine with the flavours moving towards peach and light, floral notes. The palate has a nice and easy texture with a mineral finish.
To craft this wine, the estate, which is run by Pierre de Benoist today, the nephew of Aubert and Pamela de Villaine, harvests the grapes by hand. These are then pressed slowly and gently. Natural yeast start fermentation under controlled temperature in vats and large oak barrels.
On thing is for certain, this variety is regaining its prestige and is now more well known than a few years’ ago, having long been in the shadow of the Chardonnay which seems to reign in this region. And its rise is down to renowned winemakers like the Villaine family who carefully chose terroirs that allow the Aligoté vines to flourish.