This TOP domain is located in the heart of Burgundy on “Le Clos des Langres”, a magical place, a vineyard in monopoly property, with 3.15 ha of vines, first planted in the 10th century by the monks of Cluny. The mansion in the middle of the vineyards overlooks the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits. d’Ardhuy has almost 40 hectares of vines, which together yield 40 cuvées, of more than 125 registered plots. Only 7.5 hectares have been planted with Chardonnay, the rest have been planted with Pinot Noir. And they only have 2 hectares of regional wines in their collection plus a very well located half hectare of Clos de Vougeot – once a whole hectare – located between Méo and Eugénie.
The history of Domaine d’Ardhuy goes back to 1947, when the young Gabriel d’Ardhuy meets Eliane André during the harvest in Burgundy. It’s love at first sight. Eliane’s father Pierre André is a winemaker and négociant in Burgundy, with vineyards in Alexe-Corton and owner of the Monopole Clos des Langres. Gabriel and Eliane get married, and join Pierre André’s company. Slowly but surely the wine company is expanding with vineyards in Puligny-Montrachet, Gevrey-Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot and Corton-Charlemagne, among others. The d’Ardhuy family is also growing: no less than 7 daughters are born, all of whom grow up in the company. In 2002, the family decided to focus solely on viticulture and winemaking, and the branch of the house was sold. In early 2003, Carel Voorhuis, son of a lawyer from Maastricht who had previously bought a winery in the Jura, enters as ‘régisseur’. And then it goes fast: already in 2004, the Revue de Vins de France chose Ardhuy as number 3 of producers in the Côte de Beaune and as number 4 in the Côte de Nuits.
Carel Voorhuis has now left again and since the 2017 harvest, Vincent Bottreau and his teams have been leading the winemaking. And in my opinion, the wines have only gotten better. Vincent’s style is more refined and precise, in which he always looks for finesse and elegance. The use of wood is subtle and never exaggerated.
Domaine d’Ardhuy has obtained a certification of organic and biodynamic agriculture for all its vineyards since the 2012 vintage. However, in February 2018, after difficult harvest years, they decided to take a break from the official BIO certification to work thoroughly to further improve their farming methods in order to create more stability in the overall process, always with respect for the terroir and the environment. Their goal is a gradual return to official AB certification, starting in 2023. Vincent is first and foremost aiming for an environmental certification from the 2019 harvest year. They are now High Environmental Value Level 3 certified.
