Why it matters
The producer
Jean-Charles Boisset created Domaine de la Vougeraie to gather the strongest parts of the Boisset family's vineyard holdings under one name. The estate now stretches across the Côte d'Or, with bottles that move from broad Bourgogne appellations to highly specific grand cru parcels.
Pascal Marchand was the original winemaker, followed by Pierre Vincent from 2006. The change sits inside a larger estate built to show differences between vineyards rather than flattening them into one house style. A bottle of Bourgogne Pinot Noir carries the family range at its widest, while Charmes-Chambertin concentrates the work into one old Pinot Noir planting.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The Côte d'Or is the physical frame, split between the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. The equal division gives the range two Burgundy registers: Pinot Noir from northern sites such as Nuits-Saint-Georges and Charmes-Chambertin, and wines from the Côte de Beaune, including Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru.
The labels carry those differences directly. Bourgogne names the regional appellation, Savigny-lès-Beaune identifies a village and its premier cru level, and Charmes-Chambertin names a grand cru vineyard appellation. The grape remains Pinot Noir in each red example, while place changes the bottle's scale, texture and detail.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Domaine de la Vougeraie uses biodynamic preparations, including cow horn compost infusions. By 2011, every part of the estate was cultivated biodynamically. Across 29 appellations, one farming method meets different soils, slopes, grapes and vineyard ages.
The cellar consequence is a range that keeps site names visible. Pinot Noir from Savigny-lès-Beaune can be read through its sandy, pebbly, iron-rich ground, while Charmes-Chambertin carries massal selection, dense planting and vines dating from 1901 to 1902. Clos Blanc de Vougeot retains Chardonnay as its defining vineyard choice.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range begins with Bourgogne wines, where the regional appellation presents the family holdings in their broadest form. Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru narrows the focus to 100% Pinot Noir from a named Côte de Beaune site. Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de Thorey moves into a more detailed Pinot Noir register, and Charmes-Chambertin occupies the grand cru end of the red range.
The 2022 Clos de Thorey brings spiced tea, earth, red currant, dark currant and subtle wood on the nose. Raspberry and ripe redcurrant follow on the palate, with fruit and acidity held in close balance and tannin supplying shape. The 2022 Charmes-Chambertin is broader and more deeply textured, finishing with the width and length expected from its old grand cru planting.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Choose the 2022 Charmes-Chambertin. It is 100% Pinot Noir from a grand cru planting at 10,000 vines per hectare, with more than half of the original parcel planted in 1901 and 1902 through massal selection. In the glass, the wine is luxuriously wide and textured, with a long, grand finish.