Darviot-Perrin
Domaine Darviot-Perrin in Monthélie farms eleven hectares in the Côte de Beaune, spread across Monthélie, Volnay, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet, including seven Premier Cru sites. Pierre-Antonin Darviot took over the family estate in 2019 at the age of twenty-five from his father Didier, and converted it, in the tenth generation, to biodynamic viticulture. In the cellar he ferments with up to one hundred percent whole clusters. Some of the vines are very old. The Volnay-Santenots 1er Cru comes from Pinot Noir vines planted in 1927 and yields a wine of rare concentration, whose tannin nonetheless stays silky.
Monthélie in the Côte de Beaune
The Darviot family has owned its plots in Monthélie since the nineteenth century, and the village has remained the estate's starting point. Ten generations worked here before Pierre-Antonin Darviot took over.
The eleven hectares lie across four communes of the Côte de Beaune: Monthélie, Volnay, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet. Seven of the sites are classified Premier Cru, and from Monthélie itself comes the Monthélie "Les Crayes", a Pinot Noir at village level.
Pierre-Antonin Darviot, tenth generation
Pierre-Antonin Darviot studied oenology in Beaune and then worked in the Loire and in New Zealand, before returning to Burgundy in 2017. In 2019, at twenty-five, he took over management from his father Didier. His first vintage coincided with the conversion to biodynamic viticulture, which he carried through across the whole estate.
The conversion covered all eleven hectares, including the oldest plots. Old vines respond slowly to a change in cultivation, and the 2019 decision only writes itself into the wines over several vintages. Biodynamic work has set the rhythm in the vineyard ever since, and that restraint continues in the cellar, from harvest to bottling.
Volnay-Santenots and the 1927 vines
Les Santenots sits on Meursault soil but is classified as Volnay. The Pinot Noir vines behind the Volnay-Santenots 1er Cru were planted in 1927; they yield little and give a wine of rare concentration. Volnay also supplies the Volnay 1er Cru "La Gigotte", and Chassagne-Montrachet the Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Bondues", likewise a Pinot Noir.
Whole clusters and used barrels
Pierre-Antonin Darviot ferments with up to one hundred percent whole clusters. The stems bring floral notes and a silky tannin. The Gigotte ages in used barrels, with the share of new oak kept to no more than twenty-five percent. There is no fining or filtration, and sulphur is used only in small doses.
Wines made this way drink well young and keep developing over years. In their youth, floral scent and red fruit stand out; with time, the structure drawn from the stems and old vines takes the upper hand, and the differences between the Premier Cru sites become clearer.