Robert Arnoux was among the most esteemed and influential pillars of modern Burgundy. His eponymous Domaine, which included superb vineyards spread over 15 appellations, produced some of the most noteworthy wines of his era. Although the family estate dates back some 150 years into the nineteenth century, their wines were not estate bottled until the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. When Robert Arnoux passed away in 1995, he was succeeded by is son-in-law, Pascal Lachaux who had been working alongside his father-in-law since 1987. The Domaine was renamed Arnoux-Lachaux in 2007. Grandson Charles Lachaux took the reins in 2012 and, to the delight of his father and the acclaim of critics, the wine at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux has never been better.
Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux today comprises 14.5 hectares of old vine (over fifty years on average) pinot noir situated in the Côte de Nuits. The agriculture is organic (certification pending) and biodynamic viticulture is the norm.
In addition to the wines produced from the estate vineyards, in 2019 Charles Lachaux launched his micro-négoce called Charles Lachaux to produce an Aligoté from grapes that the domaine used to sell to négociants. Acquaintances of Charles, who had recently taken over domaines from their parents, poured their heart and sweat into conscientious viticulture. They were sad to see their grapes go to much larger négociants to be blended into large cuvées. When they heard that Charles had started a négociant, they offered him some. So instead of just the Aligoté, the début for the Charles Lachaux label included five wines.
All the grapes are picked by the Lachaux team. Including the Aligoté, all the grapes are pressed in a vertical press. The fermentations take place using ambient yeasts. No sulphur is added until after the malolactic fermentation (unless necessary). For the reds, there is no pre-soak and the grapes are fermented mostly (70-90%) whole-cluster over indigenous yeasts. After about 10 days of fermentation on the skins, the young wine is gently pressed with a vertical press and then transferred to oak barrels (only 10-30% new) for 14 months of aging. With one exception, there are no significant differences in the winemaking process between Charles Lachaux and Arnoux-Lachaux wines. The exception is the aging. The Charles Lachaux wines are bottled after a little less than a year, as opposed to 18 months for the Domaine wines. This difference makes a difference. The Négoce wines are fruit-driven, captured before their stay in oak leaves a noticeable patina – vins de soif. Of course, they’re still Burgundy and can age. But the goal is immediate pleasure.
