Domaine A. et P. de Villaine Rully 1er Cru Cloux Blanc AOC 2019

The wine house Domaine A. et P. de Villaine was established in 1971 by a couple, Ober and Pamela de Villaine. The letters A and P in the name stand for nothing other than Ober and Pamela. The estate is located in the small town of Buxy, lying on the gentle hills of Côte Chalonnaise in Burgundy. Buxy has rich long-standing traditions of producing high-quality wines. This terroir was first highly regarded in the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, monks from the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny planted vineyards in the vicinity of Buxy, the location of which has remained unchanged for centuries. The grapes here grow on the slopes of the hills, allowing the vine to receive maximum sunlight. The nutrient-poor limestone soils serve as a natural limiter on yield, while the warm microclimate of the valley promotes rapid ripening of the berries. Ober de Villaine is the heir of the famous wine house Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), whose wines are considered among the best not only in France but in the entire world. Ober spent his youth in the USA, where he met his wife Pamela. Initially, he studied literature and law, later working for a company that imported Burgundy wines. In 1971, Ober returned to France to take up the rights of co-owner and manager of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Not wanting to live and work in the same place, Ober and Pamela sought a quiet corner. Thus, they ended up in the town of Buxy. Impressed by the quality of the grown Aligoté grapes, Ober decided to settle in Buxy. Initially, his holdings were very small—about 8 hectares. Ober began producing wine from his own grapes. The remoteness of Buxy allowed Ober to engage in winemaking for his own pleasure, without worrying about maintaining an international reputation. The first vintage of excellent wine was ready in 1973. Ober de Villaine chose a path different from most Burgundy winemakers. He began cultivating the Aligoté grape variety, specifically the "golden aligoté" (Aligote doree). The fact is that Burgundy winemakers generally regard Aligoté with disdain, considering it suitable only for cheap table wine. Quite popular in the past, Aligoté was subsequently almost completely displaced by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varieties. The reason for this was the destruction of the vines by phylloxera in the mid-19th century, to which Aligoté proved extremely vulnerable. Impressed by the results achieved by de Villaine, neighboring estates became interested in this grape variety, and today Buxy is the only appellation in Burgundy specializing exclusively in Aligoté Dore. Since the early 1980s, organic winemaking technologies have begun to be implemented at Domaine de Villaine. The author of this idea was Pamela—while caring for her garden, she always used only natural methods of plant care. As a result, in 1986, the de Villaine estate received official "organic" status. The next stage in the history of Domaine de Villaine is linked to the New World. In 2000, Ober de Villaine, together with Larry Hyde, Pamela's cousin and manager of Hyde Vineyard in California, opened a family business HdV (Hyde de Villaine). Thus, at that time, Ober was actively involved in the work of three wine houses. To relieve some of the burden, he decided to pass the post of manager of Domaine de Villaine to his nephew Pierre de Benoit, who comes from a family of hereditary winemakers who own the Domaine du Nozay winery in Sancerre. Although Pierre spent his entire childhood among vineyards and wineries, he had no desire to engage in the family business. Instead, he obtained a legal education and lived and worked in Paris for a long time. However, according to him, he was the son of a winemaker, and this occupation was in his blood. Therefore, when Ober asked him in 2000 to head Domaine de Villaine, Pierre agreed. He significantly expanded the estate's territory by purchasing plots in neighboring villages Rully and Mercurey. In addition to the main variety—Aligoté—Chardonnay and Pinot Noir began to be cultivated on the estate's vineyards. Today, Pierre manages the entrusted wine house, remaining true to the traditions of high quality established by Ober de Villaine.