Chambolle-Musigny Arnoux-Lachaux (Domaine) 2020

Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, located in Vosne-Romanée, was founded in 1858 and has remained in the same family for five generations. Florence and Pascal Lachaux led the estate from 1995, succeeded by their son Charles Lachaux, who currently represents the sixth generation. The vineyard covers just under 15 hectares across fifteen appellations including Vosne-Romanée, Clos-de-Vougeot, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, Echezaux, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and more.
Since arriving at the estate in 2011, Charles Lachaux has profoundly reshaped both viticulture and winemaking practices. Now certified biodynamic, the vineyard has seen the introduction of eco-grazing and permanent grass covers, alongside a move to higher trellising training and gobelet method pruning; ploughing was abandoned in 2020, and fermentations are carried out entirely with whole bunches. Some plots were recently replanted at very high density. The trade-off to all these changes materialises in extremely low yields, but the leap in quality is absolutely undeniable. In the cellar, the winemaker has adopted a resolutely low-intervention approach, macerations are short, extraction is notably gentle and the proportion of new oak has been sharply reduced. Since 2022, the wines have been aged exclusively in sandstone vessels, with no oak influence.
The estate’s wines have been in high demand for a couple of years, prized for their finesse, remarkable substance and distinctive, infused style. A benchmark estate in the Côte de Nuits.