Domaine des Perdrix

From five generations of wine passion to a reference of the Côte de Nuits

The Devillards have been rooted in viticulture for five generations — first as négociants, then as estate operators. In 1996, Bertrand and Christiane Devillard, together with their children Amaury and Aurore, acquired the Domaine des Perdrix from the Bouhey family. The winery in Premeaux-Prissey, a small wine-growing village in the southern part of the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation, was barely known at the time: most of the harvest was sold to négociant houses instead of being bottled under its own label. That is exactly what made the acquisition so appealing. The family immediately invested in expanding the cellar in order to consistently vinify the extraordinary sites that belong to the Domaine as independent wines for the first time. Today, the Domaine des Perdrix is one of the sought-after addresses in the Côte de Nuits. The Devillards also operate the Château de Chamirey in Mercurey, the Domaine de la Ferté in Givry, the Domaine de la Garenne in the Mâconnais, and the Domaine Rolet in the Jura.

Lutte Raisonnée in the vineyard, natural yeasts in the cellar

The Domaine comprises around 15 hectares, distributed over 18 plots in nine appellations — exclusively in the Côte de Nuits. The soils consist predominantly of limestone and clay, a classic substrate for Pinot Noir in this part of Burgundy. The oldest vines date back to 1922. In the vineyard, the team works according to the principles of Lutte Raisonnée: interventions are reduced to what is necessary, yields are deliberately kept low, and each plot is looked after individually. The harvest is carried out exclusively by hand, the grapes are carefully sorted and then completely destemmed. In the cellar, a four- to six-day cold maceration begins before alcoholic fermentation with natural yeasts sets in. The maceration time is 15 days; the only extraction technique used is pigeage — the submerging of the grape skins — no pumping over. Depending on the appellation, the wines mature for 13 to 18 months in French oak barrels, with the proportion of new wood being staggered: lower for the village wines, higher for the Premiers and Grands Crus.

Monopoles, Premiers Crus, and a Grand Cru from the best site Échezeaux

The centerpiece of the range is the Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru "Aux Perdrix" — a quasi-monopole that the Domaine owns 99%, a rarity in the plot-rich Burgundy. The approximately 1.5-hectare climat is located in Premeaux with an east-southeast orientation, on limestone-clay soils with vines averaging about 40 years old. Within this monopole, the Domaine vinifies a special cuvée in tiny quantities: the "Les 8 Ouvrées," exclusively from the oldest vines in the site. In addition, there are village wines from Nuits-Saint-Georges and Vosne-Romanée as well as an accessible Bourgogne Pinot Noir, whose vines are rooted in the Premeaux-Prissey district and are treated according to the same standards as the top wines. The top of the range is the Échezeaux Grand Cru from the Échezeaux-du-Dessus site — 0.85 hectares, 30% whole bunches, 17 months in 60% new oak. The style of the Domaine combines precision with depth: clear fruit, firm but delicate tannins, long finish — Pinot Noir that expresses the Côte de Nuits without exaggeration.