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When it was founded in the early 1950s, this domain comprised only three hectares of vines, along with fields of grain and livestock. In 1987, Jean-Christophe Dupré joined his father in the vineyard, and they expanded the estate to 12 hectares of solely vines. Brother Vincent joined the family business in 1992, and today Domaine Dupré encompasses 26 hectares in the Mâconnais wine region.

The choice of grapes has been guided by the varying soils and micro-climates throughout the domain. Chardonnay cloaks about 10 hectares of southwest-facing slopes in the commune of Royer, sitting at 300 metres in elevation and rooted in white marl soil. Pinot Noir grapes, however, prefer the red earth of ‘Sous Borreau', east of Royer. Gamay has mainly been planted on the deep clay-limestone soil of the Royer valley.

Jean-Christophe’s viticulture practices reveal a deep reverence for the soil. He follows ‘reasoned viticulture’ and ‘reasoned agriculture’ in the vineyard, and has installed an on-site weather station to aid in determining any treatments required with greater care and precision. Only organic inputs are used when absolutely necessary.

The domain’s exceptional Bourgogne Rouge and collection of reds are a clear translation of his passion and careful quality control from the vine all the way to bottle.

Dupré plants grasses between the vine rows to measure erosion, limit yields, enrich the soil, and foster a healthy microcosm. He only cuts the grass twice per year, and tends to prune severely following the Cordon Royat method to improve the quality of the grapes.

As Jean-Christophe has said: "We owe it to future generations to perpetuate the Mâconnais wine tradition and to constantly work towards quality”.

Come harvest, fruit is quickly and very lightly pressed to obtain a clear juice. This is fermented for three weeks in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. The Domaine Dupré Bourgogne rouge aged in barrels, of which 20% are new.

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Felix Debavelaere, winemaker of Domaine Rois Mages in Rully, has really impressed us in his approach of winemaking, and with his unique vineyard terroir, part of the Southern part of Burgundy. Included in the Cote Chalonnaise, Rully is part of the lesser-known appellations worldwide, however it's history is there and was one of the oldest winemaking regions with the helps of the monks of the nearby Abbeye in Dijon. Rully is now an appellation really talked about in the industry as their terroirs are very distinctives making unique wines, part of it is the unusual vineyards elevation, as well as the iconic soils built of clay - limestone with a very rocky dominance. Domaine Rois Mages, established in 1984 by Felix's mother Anne-Sophie, family native of the region they were well aware of the importance of the soils in Rully, the Domaine puts a real accent on vinifying each parcel seperately as their soils and elevation make them each unique. Felix has now 11 hectares with some of the 'climats' known in Rully : Les Cailloux, Moulin a Vent, Plante Moraine.

The delicacy of these Rully wines, can compete with the nearby notorious appellations of Chassagne Montrachet or Puligny. Felix came on board in 2009, after making his own way and worked in different wineries around the world, he even took a journey in his winemaking career in Margaret River, Australia. His approach to winemaking is minimal intervention, using indigenous yeast with long cool barrels ferments trying to extract the terroirs characteristics with a good fruit purity. It doesn't stop there, in the vineyard, Felix works in lutte raisonee as he truly believes in working with a respect of the land. During our last visit at the Domaine, we were impressed by the beautiful vaulted cellar in the Rully hillside in 1850 which the family purchased from an ex-champenois producer, allowing them to give time to the wines.