Les Horées
Most Burgundy domaines are born out of a legacy. Les Horées began as a career change. Catharina Sadde worked as a chef before devoting herself to wine, and now runs this small Beaune-based winery alongside her husband, Guilhem Sadde, who is French. Due to limited land, their own vineyard covering just over 1 hectare, they supplement their product lineup with grapes purchased from Côte d'Or and Mâcon.
They practice biodynamic and organic viticulture, planting hedges, roses, and aromatic plants between the rows of vines and minimizing tillage as much as possible. In the winery, they use natural yeasts and do not add sulfur during fermentation. The wine lineup ranges from Coteaux Bourguignons to Premier Cru and includes a variety of styles, such as red, white, and rosé.
From a Nahe harvest to a cellar in Beaune
Catharina Sadde is German-born, and she entered the wine industry by chance. After harvesting grapes in Nahe, one of Germany's Riesling regions, she transitioned from being a chef to a winemaker, and later studied winemaking and viticulture in Montpellier and Geisenheim University.
After that, she began to build a career that caught the attention of the people of Burgundy. She gained internship and work experience at Romanée-Conti, Comte Armand, Marquis d'Angerville, Drouhin, and Vogüé. This meant she received a fairly comprehensive education in winemaking in the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune before bottling wine under her own brand.
Les Horées was founded in 2019 in partnership with Guilhem Sadde. The first two vintages, 2019 and 2020, were produced in a small, charming wine cellar located in Pommard.
In 2021, a larger wine cellar was acquired in Beaune. With the additional space, production volume increased and working conditions improved; since then, Beaune has served as the winery's headquarters.
1.3 hectares, plus what they buy
Les Horées cultivates 1.3 hectares of vineyards. In a region where a single Premier Cru plot can cover that much area, this clearly illustrates the scale of this domaine.
Some of these vineyards consist of young Chardonnay vines planted in the Pommard and Puligny plots. Since young vines grow slowly, these plots are still in a waiting phase rather than yet producing wine.
To maintain its product lineup, Les Horées purchases grapes from growers in the Côte d'Or and the Mâcon regions, which are located further south. As a result, the label encompasses various appellations ranging from the regional classification of Bourgogne to Gevrey-Chambertin, including Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits.
In the vineyards, pruning is carried out according to the Guyot-Poussard method, which is designed to respect the flow of sap. Biodynamic farming practices are applied year-round. Cover crops provide nutrients to the soil, soften the soil, reduce competition for water, and suppress weeds; trees, shrubs, and hedges are planted between the rows of vines.
Four grape varieties
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay play a primary role, just as they do across Burgundy. However, Les Horées also incorporates two grape varieties that are generally considered to be of lower quality, and these varieties are presented as separate bottled wines.
The winemaking
Les Horées's winemaking practices are consistent across all wine types. Specifically, the winery uses only natural yeasts and adds no sulfur dioxide during the fermentation process. Sulfur dioxide is added either after malolactic fermentation is complete or immediately before bottling.
For white wines, the grapes are crushed before pressing. Fermentation takes place in a combination of oak barrels and stainless steel tanks, after which the wine is aged in oak barrels for 9 to 14 months.
Red wines also follow the same fermentation process in oak barrels and tanks. The difference lies in the treatment of the stems; depending on the cuvée and vintage, whole clusters are used at a rate ranging from 25% to 100%. Maceration is carried out gently rather than to maximize extraction. Aging also takes place in French oak barrels for 9 to 14 months.
Biodynamic farming serves as both a farming method and a source of inspiration.
From Coteaux Bourguignons to premier cru
For a domaine of this size, it has a very diverse product lineup. Les Horées produces regional wines, village wines, and Premier Cru wines, including reds, whites, and rosés, across the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits regions.
Among the white wines, Bourgogne Blanc Aganippe is Chardonnay, while Aligoté is divided into two separate cuvées: Bourgogne Aligoté En Coulezain and Bourgogne Aligoté Plonge et Replonge. A rosé wine is also produced.
Red wines include the Coteaux Bourguignons Mon Poulain and Gamay-based cuvées, as well as those starting with Bourgogne Rouge Le Vieux Sage. Next are the Savigny-lès-Beaune Les Plaisirs et Les Jours, Beaune Les Prévolles, Gevrey-Chambertin En Reniard, and the only one on the list, the Côte de Nuits.
In the Premier Cru category, Pernand-Vergelesses 1er and Cru Les Fichots are the red wines of this appellation. Les Horées also produces wines from Beaune and Pommard.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the name Les Horées come from?
Greek mythology. The Horae were goddesses of the seasons, and Catharina Sadde uses the name to mark the turning of the seasons, though she notes there are several ways to read it.
Is Les Horées certified organic or biodynamic?
The farming is organic and biodynamic in practice, but the domaine does not hold certification.
Is Les Horées a domaine or a négociant?
Both, in effect. It farms its own small holding and buys in fruit from the Côte d'Or and the Mâcon, which is how the range covers so many appellations.
