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It is not every day that one can report on a newly founded domaine in Burgundy. This is not really the case with Domaine Boris Champy either; for he has taken over the domaine from Didier Montchovet and with it the oldest Demeter-certified winery in Burgundy. Yet the process is spectacular because the experienced winemaker Boris Champy is focusing above all on the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune and thus on vineyards that received little attention until just a few years ago.
Text and wine expertise: Christoph Raffelt
Highly experienced and well-connected
Boris Champy’s CV contains some remarkable positions. The native Champenois spent ten years managing the Dominus winery in Napa Valley for Christian Mouëix. After that, he spent several years in Burgundy with Louis Latour before taking care of the wines from Clos des Lambrays.
A few years ago, the passionate triathlete felt that he should make a change and set off on foot along the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela. Upon his return, the well-connected Boris established himself as a consultant. When he received the offer from Didier Montchovet to take over his domaine, he seized the opportunity.
The Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
Didier Montchovet’s winery was no ordinary one; it was located remotely in Nantoux in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. Montchovet had founded it in 1984 with 0.5 hectares and expanded it to twelve hectares over the years. He built his winery from the outset according to organic and biodynamic principles and was the first to have his winery in Burgundy certified by Demeter®. From 1990 onwards, he planted new vineyards in which he used exclusively sélections massales from cuttings that still dated from the pre-phylloxera era and had never seen a trace of chemicals. Such things are not exactly common.
The domaine’s vineyards are essentially located in a part of Burgundy that enjoyed little reputation just a few years ago. These are the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, which, like the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, are somewhat off the beaten path and at higher elevation. These are vineyards that were by no means optimally situated in the past and where the grapes often did not ripen.
But that has changed in recent years. Whilst one must worry about heat stress and overheating in some Grand Cru sites, the peripheral vineyards are becoming increasingly favourable. Both Montchovet and Champy have placed and continue to place particular emphasis on buffer zones and biodiversity. Small woodlands, orchards, meadows with rare plants, dry stone walls and hedgerows play a crucial role in the domaine’s ecosystem. They contribute not only to diversity but also to the protection of the vineyards.
In addition to the Hautes-Côtes situated at up to 421 metres in elevation, the winery owns a few parcels in the En Bœuf vineyard site in Pommard and the Premier Cru sites Aux Coucherias and Les Vignes Franches in Beaune. These vineyard sites will likely be noted on the labels from the next vintage onwards.
Wines and styles of Boris Champy
Boris Champy, and one notices this very quickly, has a very good touch for the right use of oak. This becomes clear with every single wine, but especially with the Pinots. He already interprets the individual vineyard sites very precisely, knows how to destem more or less as appropriate, and uses different vessels and tonneaux for ageing the wines. In doing so, he manages to preserve the distinctive freshness of the wines. In addition to the Pinots, he produces a quaffable spicy and fresh Gamay, as well as a Chardonnay and an Aligoté with power and maturity. This is part of the „new“ Burgundy that one should not miss.
