Domaine Benoît Chevallier 2023

Benoît is not yet on the radar of the broader collector market, but the terroir is the real thing, the pedigree is three generations deep, and the prices still reflect someone who hasn’t been discovered. That always eventually changes with producers working at this level in these appellations, especially Vosne.

Benoît’s father Maurice was the longtime mayor of Vosne-Romanée and the family has farmed here since the 1930s. These parcels have roots in the appellation that most estates with far more famous names don’t. Benoît took full control in 2018 and made his first vintage under his own label in 2019. In just six vintages, he has built something that the trade is just beginning to understand.

He does everything himself. Four hectares, one-man, old vines, organic farming, pruning adjusted vine by vine. In the cellar, long macerations of two to three weeks, 100% destemmed by hand, aged in barrel at a ratio and patience that belongs to a much more established name. The production is minuscule by any measure, because one person can only do so much without compromising anything.

The 2023 vintage is leaving France, so we are offering an early preview of his Vosne-Romanée La Colombière and his 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts, initially offered exclusively to Martine’s private clients. Benoît often says that if he could only make one wine, it would be Beaux Monts. And who wouldn’t? If you’ve had Clavelier or Leory’s example, you can understand the respect it commands. Just as compelling is his La Colombière, which is one of the finest villages vineyards in Vosne-Romanée. In an ample vintage like 2023, he makes a handful of barrels to make up a portion of his villages Vosne, and bottles a small portion on its own.

We love these wines and firmly believe that if you haven’t yet discovered them, this is the vintage to start.