Messrs Dugat command the highest respect from their peerage of Burgundian growers and negociants, vignerons amongst the Premier and Grand Crus of Gevrey Chambertin for centuries, they established Domaine Dugat-Py in 1994. The relatively new label has experienced an extraordinary surge in value and prestige, purely as a result of the estate's uncompromising attention to detail and pursuit of excellence. Petite Chapelle is a small parcel of vine, fifty years of age, very near the illustrious Climats of Chambertin itself, only a hundred dozen bottles are made each year.

At some ten hectares in total area, Lavaux St Jacques is one of the largest and most prolific delineations within the greater Commune of Gevrey Chambertin. Planted to the southerly facing aspects of Combe de Lavaux, the quarter is defined by weathered limestone soils which formed part of a drainage canal into the flood plains at the centre of the Commune. A unique mesoclime of sunnier days for developed esters, followed by cooler night breezes for slower ripening, makes muscular, darkly fruited wines of bucolic savouryness and alluvial minerality.

Gevrey Chambertin represents a breathtaking concentration of the world's great vineyards. The Dugat family have been practising viticulture within this very commune since the seventeenth century. Planted halfway up the side of a gentle arc which defines the elite slope of Cote St-Jacques, the individual Lieu-dit of Champeaux yield wines which are uniquely identifiable, as much by the subtle variations of terroir as the influence of the winemaker. Dugat-Py are respected by peers and enthusiasts alike for excellence and eloquence without peer.

From a small parcel of vines over fifty years of age, planted halfway up the propitious slopes of Cote St-Jacques at the very north of Gevrey Chambertin, the east facing site is perfect for Pinot Noir. A quiet achiever of the Commune, Champeaux yields a wine of extraordinary eloquence, which possesses the capacity to retain its refinement and grace as it ages and evolves for many years. Traditionally crafted and matured in an extravagant selection of completely new oak, a little over a hundred dozen Dugat-Py Champeaux are produced each year.

Halfway up the auspicious slopes at the very top of Appellation Gevrey Chambertin, seven hectares of Champeaux are planted to a mix of marly red brown soils and limestone clays. There are a number of growers but the vines of Domaine Dugay-Py are husbanded to perfection through the use of totally organic vitculture. An exacting vinification, followed by a year and a half maturation in the finest new French oak, under the ancient cellars of Abbaye Aumônerie, achieves a Premier Cru of peerless elegance and exquisite grace.

Champeaux is seven hectares at the very northern perimeter of Gevrey Chambertin, planted to an easterly facing slope of limestone clay alluvials which characterize nature's endowment of the most superior Climats de La Bourgogne. The vines of Domaine Dugat-Py are over fifty years of age, they yield an exceptional quality of fruit by virtue of the dedication and skill accumulated through centuries of family viticulture. M Dugat employs a measure of whole bunch inclusion and open ferments to compliment the excellence of terroir at La Champeaux.

An uncompromising pursuit of excellence is central to the success of Domaine Dugat-Py. Viticulture is indispensably holistic and completely organic, the soil is sacred and the culture of the vine is deeply spiritual. M Dugat adheres to principles of winemaking which have remained unchanged by his family for centuries. Very near the centre of Gevrey, in the older part of town, the cellars of an Abbaye built a millennia ago, are enlisted by Dugat-Py to age vintages of Champeaux Premier Cru in an extravagant selection of the finest new oak barriques.

Roman historian Pliny the Elder tells us that Gevrey Chambertin was the first part of Burgundy to be exploited for winemaking, ancient vineyards have been unearthed which date back to the 1st Century BC. The Dugat family arrrived somewhat later during the seventeenth century, they are respected by an elite peerage of vignerons for the uncompromising standards of excellence which they bring to the wines of Cote-d'Or. This artisanal and meticulous Domaine retains three precious blocks of vine, immediately adjacent to the finest vineyards in Gevrey Chambertin.

The viticultural team at Dugat-Py have taken a one way journey back in time, adapting the environmentally sound farming techniques which would have been familiar in the days of horse and plough. Organic fertilizers and mulches are back on the menu, horses have also been harnessed up for duty among the vines. The quality of fruit achieved from this return to the timeless practices of yesteryear, has made a major contribution to the eminence and prestige of Domaine Dugat-Py. From three blocks of Premier Cru vines, a mere hundred dozen each year.

A bottling of the Premier Crus at Fonteny, Corbeaux et Perriere, three choice blocks of vine, a precious endowment, fifty years of age, planted to the immediate periphery of the most illustrious vineyards on Cote de Nuits. Ancient farming techniques and a minimalist approach to the winemaking, whole bunch inclusions and open fermentations in traditional concrete vats, are essential to the virtue and integrity. A year and a half ageing in a selection of the finest, exclusively new oak, completes an eloquent wine of extraordinary elegance and remarkable finesse.

The grands vignobles de Gevrey-Chambertin have commanded the highest prices for millenia, they were Napoleon's favourite wines and served to parch his thirst during history's most infamous battles. Domaine Dugat-Py retain three small but precious parcels of vine very near the source of Bonaparte's brew, now fully mature at fifty years of age, they yield a mere hundred dozen of the finest Premier Cru in the entire commune. The outstanding provenence of fruit is matched by a peerless measure of skill and meticulous attention to detail by Messrs Loc & Bernard Dugat.

An assemblage of fruit from the Premier Crus of Fonteny, Corbeaux et Perriere, all are fortuitously positioned immediately north or east of the stellar Grands Crus at Les Mazis. These auspicious blocks of vine, half a century of age, are planted at the very heart of Gevrey-Chambertin central, sharing their fences with the most famous and invaluable parcels of Pinot Noir in the world. Such are the stature of Gevrey Chambertin, that Dugat-Py treat their Premier Crus to a term of age under the ancient vaulted cellars at Abbaye de Aumônerie.

Bernard Dugat is a thirteenth generation winegrower. Domaine Dugat-Py retain ten hectares of the most superior blocks in all of Le Vignoble de Bourgogne, even the youngest vines are fifty or sixty years of age. Viticulture is completely biodynamic and fully organic, all work is done by hand, except for those duties which are best carried out by a horse. The finished Morgeot Blanc is treated to eighteen or twenty months maturation in completely new oak, a mere few hundred bottles are produced each year.

Towards the southwest of Chassagne-Montrachet, alongside Route de Santenay, lies the Abbaye de Morgeot. Domaine Dugat-Py retain a very small part of the elite Climat at Morgeot but the quality of fruit is without peer. Managed to the same holistic viticultural techniques which would have been employed when the ancient Abby was built, the limestone clay soils yield one of the greatest white wines in the world, to be treated to an extended maturation in completely new French oak barrels from the cooperage of François Frères.

An extraordinary concentration of the finest vineyards in the world are to be found in the very southwest parts of Gevrey Chambertin. As you enter the commune from the south, the various Climats of Charmes and its satellites, a mere thirty hectares, all appear within the first kilometre of Route N74. The parcels of Dugat-Py are amongst the youngest, they are however the most fastidiously managed, trained to completely organic regimens of viticulture which have remain unchanged for centuries. Fewer than two hundred dozen bottles are made each year.

The invaluable Lieux-dits des Charmes are planted to a crest of superior vineyards along the Routs des Grands Crus. The family of M. Dugat shares a history with the great and timeless appellation of Charmes Chambertin, claiming the prestigious Tasse d’Or for Best Grand Cru. Domaine Dugat-Py are respected by peers and enthusiasts alike, admired for the excellence of their viticulture, venerated for the purity and virtue of their wines, managed from vineyard to bottling, with uncompromising and obsessive attention to detail.

The vines of Charmes Chambertin are planted to rocky brown soils, partly alluvial and rich in limestones clays, a fortuitous mix which yields harvests of the most extraordinary Pinot Noir. Elegantly perfumed, eloquent and statuesque, the wines of Aux Charmes have been revered for centuries by kings and emperors alike. The proprietors of Dugat-Py have been local winegrowers since the days of the three musketeers, their parcel of Charmes is a relatively recent acquisition, brought to an uncompromising standard of excellence within the life of a generation.

Domaine Montirius is based near Sarrians to the northeast of Chateauneuf du Pape, in the prestigious appellations of Vacqueyras and Gigondas. Domaine Montirius make wines that are rounder and more voluptuous than their neighbouring estates. No wood is employed in the maturation, which preserves tremendous purity of fruit, expressing fully the concentration that comes from a high percentage of very old vines. Domaine Montirius Vacqueyras is a wonderfully vivacious, fuit driven wine of captivating depth and exceptional style.