Bernard Dugat-Py

These average almost 70 years of age, with some being over a hundred. Bernard Dugat converted to organic viticulture in 2003 and it is now his son, Loïc, who tries to use horses to work the vineyards wherever possible. With around 13 ha of vines, the domaine centres on the family home in a hamlet below the Clos St-Jacques vineyard. Its striking cellars, with their high vaulted ceiling and columns, date from the 11th century, once belonging to St Benedict’s Abbey in Dijon. The Dugats can trace their own winemaking heritage in Gevrey-Chambertin back through Loïc’s great-grandmother to 1645. The Dugat estate dates in name from 1923, while the ‘Py’ suffix is his mother Jocelyne’s maiden name. Loïc represents the 13th generation to run the estate while his wife looks after the office. Local holdings have been supplemented in recent times by vines in Beaune, Pommard, Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet and most recently Chorey-lès-Beaune. Quantities are tiny so visitors are few but welcomed with broad smiles, and not a drop of wine is wasted. Less new wood is used now, but we still advise customers to wait to open their bottles: five years for the 1er crus and eight for the grand crus.