The Famous Wines From Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux

In a very short time Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux has achieved what few domains achieve in a lifetime. The credit goes to Charles Lachaux, who revolutionised the domain's approach to winemaking - particularly in the domain's vineyards. Since he took the helm of his ancestral domain, world fame has come to the domain. Charles Lachaux is a pioneer in Burgundy, but of course he could not create a revolution without a workplace.

The following will give an insight into the domain's parcels on many great vineyards in Burgundy - space is just often tight and yields are very low.

Grand Cru

Romanée-Saint-Vivant

With 90-year-old vines spread over just 0.34 hectares, Arnoux-Lachaux has something truly unique at Romanée-Saint-Vivant, just 50 metres from the famous Romanée-Conti vineyard in Vosne-Romanée. And to protect the precious old vines, horses are used for ploughing.

The Romanée-Saint-Vivant vineyard covers an area of 9.4 hectares, of which Domaine de la Romanée Conti is the largest owner with 5.29 hectares. Domaine Leroy and Domaine Dujac also make superb wines from here, and Arnoux-Lachaux's Romanée-Saint-Vivant is getting more and more recognition, earning him acclaim among the very best.

Latricières-Chambertin

In Gevrey-Chambertin there are nine vineyards with Grand Cru classification, and Latricéres-Chambertin is one of them. It is located just south of the famous Chambertin vineyard - just above Mazoyéres-Chambertin, and it is not just any vineyard. Domaine Faiveley, Domaine Trapet and Domaine Leroy also operate and practice wine magic in this vineyard.

At Latriciéres-Chambertin, Arnoux-Lachaux has a meagre 0.53 hectares acquired in 2008 spread over two parcels. These are located in the upper part of the appellation, where the sun has free passage, and the surrounding forest keeps the wind at bay. The age of the vines is 25 years and +65 years respectively.

Echézeaux Les Rouge

Echézeaux is a very large and very complex Grand Cru vineyard of 35.3 hectares in Vosne-Romanée fragmented into more than 250 plots divided between more than 50 domains. The grapes for Arnoux-Lachaux's Echézeaux Les Rouge come from a climat located in the middle of the Echézeaux slope. The land is divided into 11 so-called climates, one of which is named Les Rouges du Bas. And it is on this climat that Arnoux-Lachaux has 0.8 hectares planted with vines that are more than 80 years old.

Clos De Vougeot, Quartier De Marei Haut

Vougeot is a Burgundy commune where a large Grand Cru vineyard covers most of the area with its 50 hectares. Because the vineyard is so large, more than 80 producers send a Clos de Vougeot to the market, and Arnoux-Lachaux is one of them. They have just 0.45 hectares, which means they can produce a maximum of 2,100 bottles per vintage, and it is almost unthinkable that Charles Lachaux would produce the maximum allowed.

Premier Crus

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Procés

Les Procés is a very small Premier Cru vineyard in the southern part of the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation. It covers a total of only 1.3 hectares, which makes winemaking a bit difficult - especially when two producers must share the scarce space. Joseph Drouhin operates here and Arnoux-Lachaux has 0.7 hectares, resulting in a maximum production of 4,200 bottles per vintage.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos Des Corvées Pagets

Clos des Corvées Pagets is a Premier Cru vineyard in Nuits-Saint-Geroges, and it is actually one of three subdivisions of the larger vineyard: Aux Corvées. Here Arnoux-Lachaux has 0.55 hectares, which can allow a maximum production of 3,200 bottles per vintage. However, it has been seen before that Arnoux-Lachaux only had a yield of 19 hl/hk at Corvées Pagets, which gives an annual production of about 1,400 bottles.

"Corvée" means unpaid work imposed on servants by the landlords. It is a relic of pre-revolutionary France, and the landlords used it especially during harvest time, when extra manpower was needed. It is not clear what "pagets" refers to, but it could be a reference to the French word "payee", meaning "paid". There is some evidence to suggest that people in this part of the Corvées vineyard were paid for their work.

Today, at least, there are no servants in the vineyards. And according to Charles Lachaux, his helpers in the vineyards are not just workers - they are dedicated and charged with energy. They are a team that makes things happen: Indeed, the wines must represent the spirit and soul that the team in the vineyards has put into the process of creating them.

Arnoux-Lachaux creates a Premier Cru here from 70-year-old vines at Corvées Pagets, and he and his team are happily both paid and recognised for their hard and dedicated work in the vineyard.

Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes

With 6.6 hectares, Les Chaumes can be described as one of the larger Premier Cru vineyards in Burgundy, which also means that more people can benefit from the wines that come from this particular vineyard. However, this is (of course) not the case with Arnoux-Lachaux's Les Chaumes. Indeed, Lachaux owns only 0.74 hectares here, which allows for a maximum production of 4,400 bottles per vintage.

Les Chaumes is described by many as a vineyard that can reach Grand Cru level in the best vintages, and Arnoux-Lachaux wines from here have become extremely sought after in a very short time, as is the case with everything the daring Charles Lachaux touches.

Vosne-Romanée Cru Les Suchots

This vineyard nestles between Romanée-Saint-Vivant and Richebourg to the south and Echézeaux to the north. From only 0.43 hectares, Arnous Lachaux produces Premier Cru wine from vines that are between 60 and 70 years old. Les Suchots measures 13 hectares in total, and precisely because it is among Grand Cru parcels, many have questioned why it did not also receive Grand Cru classification in 1936 - though there are several who believe that Les Suchots in particular should receive the highest ranking.

Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots

Arnoux-Lachaux's holdings at Aux Reignots are a good example of how they work in the vineyard. Here they have 0.20 hectares, and they are all managed 100 percent biodynamic. This means that yields here are extremely low. They try to get a yield of 25 hl/hectare. But in 2019 the yield was 18 hl/hectare, while in 2021 it was all the way down to 13 hl/hectare, the latter of which only yields 347 bottles.

Village-appellations

In a short time, Arnoux-Lachaux's popularity has exploded, which also means that their wines are in high demand - regardless of classification. In addition to Grand and Premier Cru, Arnoux-Lachaux also has wines in their range with Village classification, which in English means commune classification. These are wines made from grapes from different vineyards in the same commune. 

Chambolle-Musigny

Arnoux-Lachaux makes a Village wine from Chambolle-Musigny. This will be made from a blend of five different sites, all located at the top of the Chambolle slopes. The vines have an average age of 45 years and Lachaux has a total of 1.62 hectares.

Nuits-Saint-Georges

Also in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Lachaux produces a Village wine from 1.42 hectares spread over seven different vineyards in northern Nuits-Saint-Georges. Here the vines have an average age of 50 years.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poisets

Les Poisets is located below Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles. Here Arnoux-Lachaux makes a cuvée from 0.7 hectares from 60 year old vines.

Vosne-Romanée

This Vosne-Romanée blend is made from the vineyards: Les Saules, Les Bossières and Les Communes, where Lachaux has a total of 0.57 hectares. The average age of the vines here is 50 years.

Vosne-Romanée Hautes Maizières

On the Les Maizières vineyard, Lachaux has 0.6 hectares, and the vineyard is not much bigger than that. The average age of the vines here is around 40 years.

Burgundy Pinot Fin

Last, but certainly not least, Arnoux-Lachaux has a Bourgogne rouge made from vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanee and Nuits-Saint-Georges respectively. Pinot Fin is a rare sight today, but it is older vines that pinot noir is descended from. It is said to be difficult to work with, but it fits perfectly into Charles Lachaux's approach to winemaking.

One Of The Best Places To Work In The Wine World

Great wines are being made all over the world, but there are areas that stand out from the rest. One such area is Burgundy, where Arnoux-Lachaux has a workplace in the vineyards above. From one of the best workplaces in the world, Charles Lachaux has truly achieved fame - both in and outside of Burgundy. And this is of course due to formidable working conditions.

But it is also due to a revolutionary approach to working in the vineyards. Read the big portrait of Domaine Arnoux Lachaux and Charles Lachaux in particular right here.