Winemaker Notes
Domaine Arlaud Pere et Fils was created in 1942 when Joseph Arlaud, a man from the Ardèche (northern Rhone Valley), and Renée Amiot, a woman from a family with deep roots in Burgundy, were married. The bride’s dowry included parcels in some of Burgundy's top grand cru vineyards, which Joseph then added to, parcel by parcel, through the years.
Their son, Herve, assumed the reins of the estate in 1983. Together with his wife Brigitte, he continued to grow the family's vineyard holdings, primarily in the Cote de Nuits. Their three children, from 2004 to 2012, worked alongside Herve to learn the family business.
The Arlauds began to cultivate their vineyards organically in 2004. In 2009, they were inspired to push further, establishing biodynamic viticultural practices across all their holdings. As of the 2014 vintage, the estate holds both organic and biodynamic certification, the very first estate to do so in Morey-Saint-Denis.
In 2013, Cyprien Arlaud assumed full control of the family estate. Today Domaine Arlaud manages over 30 acres of land, consisting of 19 separate vineyards in top appellations, as well as choice plots in four grand crus: Clos de la Roche, Clos Saint Denis, Charmes Chambertin, and Bonnes Mares.
The origin of perhaps the world’s very finest Pinot Noir, Côte de Nuits is the northern half of the Côte d'Or and includes the famous wine villages of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Flagey-Echezeaux and Nuits-St-Georges.
Fine whites from Chardonnay are certainly found in the Côte de Nuits, but with much less frequency than top-performing reds made of Pinot noir. The little village of Nuits-St-Georges in its southern end gave the region its name: Côte de Nuits. The city of Dijon marks its northern border.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”