Domaine Alain Burguet

Alain Burguet, born in 1950, grew up in the vines of Gevrey-Chambertin. His father, Yvon, was a tâcheron, a contract vineyard worker, for Domaine Tortochot, and Alain was working full-time in the vineyards by age 14. After military service he set out on his own on rented vines. In 1974 he bought his first 2.10 hectares in the village and founded the domaine, bottling his own wine from the start. His son Jean-Luc puts it simply: the domaine started in 1974, “from nothing.”

The domaine grew a little at a time. Alain bought the Premier Cru Les Champeaux in 1985 and inherited part of his father’s vines in 1991. In 2014 the family bought back 2.5 hectares that had belonged to Jean-Luc’s grandfather. Today the domaine farms close to ten hectares, centered on old-vine Gevrey-Chambertin. The two village wines show its range. Symphonie comes from younger vines planted in the early 1980s, east of the Route Nationale. Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes draws on vines planted between the early 1900s and the 1940s, west of the road. Since 2001 the family has also made a small négoce range from fruit grown by trusted friends, including the Grand Crus Échezeaux and Corton-Charlemagne. For the Vosne-Romanée, they choose the picking date and do the harvest themselves.

Both of Alain’s sons joined the domaine: Jean-Luc in 1997 and Eric in 1999. Jean-Luc’s training ran from Domaine Bachelet to Bandol, and then to Jim Clendenen at Au Bon Climat in California. Eric trained at Domaine Henri Gouges. The brothers took over the domaine together with the 2011 vintage. Eric left in 2017, and Jean-Luc has led the domaine since.

Alain chose organic methods well before sustainable farming became a movement in Burgundy. From the 1970s he used composted organic matter instead of industrial fertilizer. Jean-Luc farms biodynamically, though without certification. Harvest is by hand and among the latest in Gevrey, and since 2003 the grapes have been sorted three times: once in the vineyard and twice on sorting tables at the cellar.

In the cellar the reds are fully destemmed and fermented with native yeasts only. They age in barrel for 12 to 18 months and are racked once, at bottling, with no fining or filtration. Jean-Luc’s aim is wine that is clean and natural, made with very little sulfur, expressive of its site and, above all, elegant. We are proud to bring these wines to American collectors, from the village Gevreys through to the domaine’s most limited cuvées.

Our wines from Domaine Alain Burguet

2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Symphonie (also 2022)
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Mes Favorites Vieilles Vignes (also 2022)
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin Combe de Lavaux
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Champeaux
2023 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques
2022 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Rouges du Dessus
2023 Échezeaux Grand Cru (négoce)
2023 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (négoce)

For availability, contact us or join our Private Allocation Registry.