Maison Benoit Moreau
After tending vineyards for 30 years at the family-owned domaine in Chassagne-Montrachet, Benoit Moreau struck out on his own and built his own winery along Route D974 on the outskirts of town. He took with him his share of the family-owned vineyard and his own winemaking methods. These include biodynamic farming, hand-tending the rows in the vineyard, natural fermentation, and élevage (oak barrel aging), which lasts well over a year before bottling.
The lineup consists primarily of white wines ranging from Bourgogne Chardonnay to Corton-Charlemagne, along with a small quantity of Chassagne-Montrachet red wine. There is also the Beaujolais line, produced under a separate name. Production volumes are extremely limited. Few places have embraced this new Burgundy wine with such enthusiasm and so quickly.
The history
Since 1990, Benoit Moreau has worked at Domaine Bernard Moreau & Fils, the family estate in Chassagne-Montrachet. Starting in 1999, he ran the business alongside his brother, Alex, while Benoit served as the vineyard manager.
He had told his family a year earlier that he wanted to have his own winery, which gave him enough time to build a winery at Chassagne-Montrachet before ownership of the vineyard was transferred. In 2020, the brothers divided their holdings, and that same year, in November his share officially became his property.
This time lag left him a year without his own fruit. His first vintage, the 2020, was produced entirely from grapes and grape juice sold by friends who practice organic or biodynamic farming in Chassagne and the surrounding areas. Total production that year reached 9,000 bottles.
Around the same time, convinced of Beaujolais's potential, Moreau purchased a vineyard there together with a friend from Côte de Beaune. These wines bear their own label, L'Arlésienne. The first harvest took place in 2021.
4.2 hectares in Chassagne, 1.7 in Beaujolais
Maison Benoit Moreau cultivates 4.2 hectares in the Côte de Beaune region obtained through family division, as well as 1.7 hectares in the Beaujolais area — Beaujolais Villages, Chiroubles, Morgon. The vineyards belonging to Morgon are located in Corcelette, set on the hillside between Bellevue and Truges.
These are small vineyards scattered across various appellations. These include the village-level Chassagne-Montrachet and the lieu-dit Les Charrières, as well as the Premier Cru vineyards Champs Gain, Les Fairendes, La Maltroie, Grandes Ruchottes, and the family-owned La Cardeuse, as well as the Saint-Aubin Premier Cru located in En Remilly and a portion of Corton-Charlemagne.
All work except for tillage, including spraying, is done by hand. When machinery is necessary, a small crawler tractor is used to prevent soil compaction. Additionally, at Moreau, they are experimenting with tressage, a traditional technique in which the upper parts of the vines are braided upward rather than pruned, thereby forming a canopy that shades the fruit.
Limestone, and a white patch in a red vineyard
The La Cardeuse area is primarily planted with the Pinot Noir variety, which is quite unusual for the Chassagne-Montrachet region. Even more unusual is the 0.15-hectare Chardonnay parcel in the middle of the vineyard, which was intentionally established in 1955. This was because a limestone outcrop runs through the center of the vineyard, leading the growers at the time to conclude that the soil there was suitable for white wine production.
Moreau has retained this parcel as his own, and it now produces the white La Cardeuse within this monopole, which is otherwise primarily known for its red wines.
Currently, high temperatures are a major problem at Côte de Beaune, and the solution proposed by Maison Benoit Moreau is agronomic rather than technical. Specifically, cover crops are planted between the rows of vines to accumulate organic matter and protect the soil throughout the summer, and the vines are trained into a braided shape to ensure good air circulation between them.
Three varieties, two regions
- Chardonnay: Accounts for the majority of the wine bottled at this estate; all of it falls under the Côte de Beaune category
- Pinot Noir: Corresponds to Chassagne-Montrachet and higher grades
- Gamay: Exclusively for Beaujolais wines
The winemaking
Whites are either pressed whole or crushed first, depending on how ripe the skins are, and the fermentation runs on indigenous yeasts and bacteria in barrel. Barrel sizes vary: 228, 300 and 500 litres. New oak stays minimal.
Élevage is the part Moreau has been most vocal about. Wines sit in barrel for a long stretch, in the region of 15 to 18 months, before bottling under natural cork with a wax finish. Building a client base from scratch had one advantage, which was that nobody was waiting on early releases.
For the reds, whole-bunch inclusion is decided vintage by vintage. Extraction is done by infusion, meaning no pigeage, no punching down the cap. Pinot Noir goes into barrel.
Gamay is handled differently again, vinified and aged with no added sulphur, in amphora or 500-litre barrels.
The farming is biodynamic across the board. Benoit Moreau had already been working the Chassagne-Montrachet vines that way since 2013, before they were his, and the Beaujolais plots were farmed biodynamically from the first day. Certification is a more recent step.
The wines
Chardonnay forms the core of Maison Benoit Moreau. Bourgogne Chardonnay is at the lowest level, followed by Chassagne-Montrachet at the village level and Chassagne-Montrachet Les Charrières, which is a lieu-dit. Above these are the Premier Cru classifications Chassagne-Montrachet Champs-Gain and Chassagne-Montrachet Les Fairendes, along with other Chassagne Premier Crus and Saint-Aubin. Corton-Charlemagne is a Grand Cru.
Red wines account for a small share of the total production. Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes Rouge is produced from old Pinot Noir vines, while Chassagne-Montrachet La Cardeuse 1er Cru Rouge is produced from vineyards exclusively owned by the family. The Volnay Santenots 1er Cru rounds out the Pinot Noir line.
Furthermore, Beaujolais is bottled as L'Arlésienne instead of Moreau, and encompasses Beaujolais Villages, Chiroubles, and Morgon.
Production volumes are low. Since a vineyard of just a few hectares is divided into so many appellations, mathematically speaking, there is almost nothing left.
Frequently asked questions
Is Maison Benoit Moreau connected to Domaine Bernard Moreau?
Yes. Benoit is the younger son of Bernard Moreau and worked at Domaine Bernard Moreau & Fils from 1990, latterly co-running it with his brother Alex. The two split the holdings in 2020 and Benoit took his share of the vines.
What is L'Arlésienne?
It is the name used for the estate's Beaujolais wines, made from plots of Beaujolais Villages, Chiroubles and Morgon bought around the time of the split. The Côte de Beaune wines carry the Moreau name.
Where is the winery?
In Chassagne-Montrachet, in a purpose-built facility below the D974, the main road running through the Côte de Beaune. It was finished in time for the first estate harvest.
Are the wines certified biodynamic?
The farming is biodynamic in both the Côte de Beaune and Beaujolais, and certification has been in progress. The Chassagne vines were already worked biodynamically by Benoit Moreau from 2013, though without certification at the time.
