Denis and Bernadette were both born and raised in Burgundy winegrowing villages, immersed in the culture of vines and wines from the start.
Their partnership gave them the courage and the desire to pursue a shared dream of having the freedom to grow their own vines and produce their own wines, in order to hand down their expertise to the next generation. They created their estate in 1975 in Meloisey, where Denis was born, on the Hautes Côtes de Beaune.
The couplebegan with a few rented vines but gradually planted their own on family land, including their now-celebrated plot of La Perrière in Meloisey. Over the years, thanks to hard work and a little luck, the estate expanded with new plots in some of the prettiest villages on the Côte de Beaune, such as Pommard, Meursault, and Saint-Aubin.
As such, the first page in this family history was written.
The Carré family expanded in the 80’s with the arrival of their two children, Gaëtane and Martial. The natural world, the vineyards, and the winery have always been their favorite playgrounds.
Martial’s attachment to the land and the values passed on to him by his parents resulted in him taking over the estate in 2008. Gaëtane shares his passion and has also joined the family business.
Today, Martial and Gaëtane are proud of their parents’ achievements. Martial’s wife Caroline has now joined her husband and together, they work the 12 hectares of vines on the estate. The vineyard is in organic cultivation.
Martial and his family work each plot with humility, with the ultimate goal of passing on this unique heritage to the next generation. Every plot is unique. Most of our time is spent working in our vines, which extend from Meursault to Pommard, via Saint-Aubin, Auxey-Duresses, Saint-Romain, Meloisey, Beaune, and Savigny-Les-Beaune. It’s a great pleasure to care for each individual plot in such a beautiful landscape.
We prune our vines in the Guyot Poussard style and we till the soil, using only copper and sulfur to fight powdery and downy mildew.
Our work in the vines and the cellar is also guided by the phases of the moon. Organic cultivation is a natural fit with the work we have been undertaking since the late noughties.
Harvesting on the estate is always carried out by hand and the grapes are scrupulously sorted to ensure the quality is perfect. As a result, the grapes are perfectly healthy, and fermentation happens naturally thanks to the indigenous yeasts present on the skin of the grapes. We use no enological products other than low doses of sulfur to protect the wine from any bacteria.
Our approach – one that is respectful to life – involves using no chemical treatments. We believe this is the only way to produce living wines that are exceptionally balanced and exquisitely vibrant, each one epitomizing their terroir. We are proud to only sell wines exclusively produced from our own vines.
And the best reward is seeing our customers around the world appreciating the diversity of our wines.
Domaine Denis Carrе