Domaine Vincent Dureuil-Janthial
Rully | Côte Chalonnaise | Burgundy
The talents of winemaker Vincent Dureuil in Rully are such that it’s easy to forget that there are others making wine in the Côte Chalonnaise. But there just is no other artist in the region that faithfully crafts Burgundy with as much purity, elegance or character as does Dureuil.
Not only is Dureuil a gifted winemaker, but also he is blessed with some exemplary older-vine vineyards that for years have been cared for organically—a higher level of attention that sets Dureuil qualitatively apart from the pack. His delicate touch translates each individual terroir into a perfect liquid picture of what the best of Rully—and the best of Burgundy, for that matter—can be.
We first encountered the Dureuil family back in the 1980s when Raymond Dureuil ran his own estate. During a visit in 1995, he offered us a taste of premier cru ‘Meix Cadot’ white Burgundy, vinified by his 20-year-old son, Vincent, who bottled the wine unfined and unfiltered (an idea the father frowned on).
If we hadn’t known the source, we would have thought we were drinking grand cru Montrachet. Even in those early years, Vincent displayed an uncanny talent; and in the decades since, his skills and expertise have only grown, to the point where we can say without hesitation that Vincent Dureuil ranks among the finest artisans in all of Burgundy.
FARMING & WINEMAKING
Vincent Dureuil has cared for all his vineyards organically since the mid-2000s (yet does not include an organic stamp on his labels). Vineyard rows are regularly plowed to control weed growth. Very little sulfur is added during fermentation or at bottling.
For the reds, bunches are destemmed and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks or upright wooden fermenters. Wines are aged in French oak barrels from 16 to 18 months (with up to one-third new oak, depending on the cru) and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
For the whites, whole clusters are pressed directly and fermented on indigenous yeasts in barrel. Wines are aged in French oak barrels, with no more than 25 percent new oak, depending on the cru. Vincent performs some lees stirring (batonnage) during the winter months. Wines are racked according to the cycles of the moon, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
WHITE WINES
Bourgogne Aligoté
A peerless Aligoté raised like a premier cru on ideal limestone-clay soils in the appellation of Rully. Citrus zest, fresh almonds, white pepper.
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Bourgogne Blanc
A fresh and floral, yet full-flavored white from 30-year-old vines grown in a small plot located in the village of Puligny-Montrachet.
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Rully Blanc
Close your eyes, take a sip and you’ll swear what’s in your glass hails from a premier cru vineyard in the Cote de Beaune. Winemaker Vincent Dureuil blends older-vine fruit from vineyards in Rully proper for a plush, savory and lively white Burgundy with few peers.
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Rully Blanc 'Chêne'
One of Rully’s highest-altitude vineyards and also one of its coolest, this east-facing plot near the summit of the Montagne de Montpalais is white Burgundy at its most nervous and refined; a bit of Puligny herbal energy and plenty of Rully white and yellow fruits.
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Rully Blanc ‘Maizières’
With a lemon-inspired tension at its core, ‘Maizières’ combines the herbal essence of Puligny-Montrachet with the savory fruit of Meursault for a white Burgundy that showcases the best of Rully.
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Rully Blanc 1er Cru 'Les Margotés' Vieilles Vignes
The low-yielding vines here in ‘Margotes,’ at the forest line and facing full south, were planted in 1947. The best of all worlds: high-altitude fruit with verve and cut married with Rully yellow-fruited flesh and silk.
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Rully Blanc 1er Cru 'Le Meix Cadot' Vieilles Vignes
It was a sip of ‘Meix Cadot’ that seduced us nearly 20 years ago, when we first visited the Dureuil family estate. A barely 20-year-old Vincent Dureuil was making wine from his father’s vineyards, yet pushing further, fermenting in barrel and bottling his wines unfined and unfiltered. Dad wasn’t happy, but we were transfixed. We thought we were drinking a young Montrachet! The nearly 100-year-old vines here in ‘Meix Cadot’ produce very little fruit, yet are a part of the family’s history: Vincent’s great-grandfather planted them in 1920.
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Puligny-Montrachet ‘Corvée de Vignes’
‘Corvée de Vignes’ sits on the border between Puligny and Meursault, not far from Meursault’s premier cru row. Plush fruit with warm, nutty aromas and a tangy finish.
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Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Champs Gains'
‘Champs Gains,’ located on a southeast-facing slope near the village of Blagny, is an ideal plot to producer white Burgundy that is both nervously refined and plushly seductive. Soils are thin, with the “mother rock” of limestone close to the surface.
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RED WINES
Bourgogne Passtoutgrains
“Passtoutgrains” is a traditional Burgundian blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes. Like Bourgogne Rouge, it is a wine to enjoy for its young, tangy fruit and light tannins, a great everyday Burgundy with lighter fare and good friends.
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Bourgogne Rouge
A juicy, spicy red from older vines grown in the communes of Prémeaux-Prissey (near Nuits-Saint-Georges) and Puligny-Montrachet.
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Mercurey Rouge
A lively Pinot Noir that combines the mineral tang of Pommard reds with Rully’s signature ruby-red, summer-ripe fruit.
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Rully Rouge
For fans of Côte de Beaune reds, this Rully will impress (and spare your pocketbook, too). Savory red fruits, delicate spice, deliciously long. One of our favorite, go-to Bourgogne Pinot Noirs every vintage.
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Rully Rouge 'En Guesnes'
Neighbor to some of Rully’s most prized premier cru plots, ‘En Guesnes’ is all silk and savory red fruits, with baking spices and spicy depth. A stunning villages-level red that punches way above its weight class.
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Rully Rouge 'Maizières'
A special, southeast-facing vineyard (planted to both white and red grapes) that delivers a textbook Rully, with loads of ripe fruit and savory tannins. A stunning villages-level wine that will age well, too.
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Rully Rouge 1er Cru 'Chapitre'
Located in the heart of Rully’s premier cru slope, just above the village, ‘Chapitre’ delivers deeply concentrated yet supple flavors that seem to go on and on! Great spice and complexity.
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Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru 'Clos des Argillières'
Winemaker Vincent Dureuil selects fruit from a partially walled plot within the larger ‘Les Argillières’ vineyard in Premeaux-Prissey (next to Nuits-Saint-Georges). The family’s vines were planted in 1942. Soils, in comparison with the main vineyards of Nuits, are “terre blanche,” primarily limestone with higher concentrations of chalk and clay. Wonderful structure, supple tannins.
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Established: 1994
Winemaker: Vincent Dureuil
Region: France • Burgundy • Côte Chalonnaise • Rully
Vineyard size: 42 acres
ORGANIC WINERY
Young Vincent Dureuil must rate as one of Burgundy’s great overachievers, demonstrating the quality that is possible in the Côte Chalonnaise…
—The Wine Advocate
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