Domaine des Clos was created in 1995 by Grégoire Bichot, a member of a famous winemaking family in Burgundy. The Domaine covers 6 hectares of vines, some were planted back in 1926, in the appellations of Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Chablis. The cellars are situated in the heart of Nuits-Saint-Georges.
In Beaune, family dynasties have long been involved in perpetuating the identity of the region, the Bichot family is one of them. The first traces of the Bichot family date back to 1214. The family settled in Burgundy in 1350. In 1831, Bernard Bichot founded a wine trading business under his name in Monthélie. His son Albert Bichot settled in Beaune in 1912 and his son, Albert Bichot II, who was born in 1900, was a pioneer of international commerce and took over the family estate. Albert’s four sons, Alberic, Bernard, Bénigne and Jean-Marc, inherited this know-how approach to wine trading. Today, now 4th generation, Bernard’s son Alberic manages Maison Albert Bichot, the family’s négociant house, and Grégoire, Bénigne’s son, founded his own Domaine.
When Grégoire Bichot took over the viticulture, his philosophy was to rule out the use of any chemical pesticides and weed killers, in order to protect the environment and the Jurassic soils in which the delicacy of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines flourishes in so well. His aim is to encourage the plant’s natural balance so that the fruit can develop the subtleties and aromas particular to each specific terroir that it grows in.
The vineyards are cultivated following organic principles (certified), and he applies some biodynamic practices, with a deep respect for the plant and the soil.
The harvest itself is a vital moment in the quest for quality and aromatic expression, therefore all the fruit is hand-picked and sorted twice, once at the vineyard, and a second time upon arrival to the cellar. Vinification starts by cold maceration in large used oak vats, followed by slow fermentation. After fermentation the wine is transferred by gravity to small French oak barrels, located in an old subterranean cellar, which only about a 1/3 is new. Grégoire is very careful not to mask the varietal expression and terroir typicality of the Côte d’Or, with woody, vanilla oak flavors.