Why it matters
The producer
The present wine house stands at 3 rue des Lavières in Saint-Aubin, after the Piffaut family acquired Château de Saint-Aubin and its vineyards. Its nine-hectare estate sits in the Côte de Beaune, while the wider cellar range reaches into several famous Chardonnay villages. HVE 3-certified sustainable viticulture, including biodiversity protection and economical resource management, supplies the farming framework; Nadine Gublin advises the winemaking team as it turns that fruit into both regional and site-designated bottles.
Prosper Maufoux began when its founder left a career as a notary in 1860 to establish a wine house in Santenay. The house later developed an overseas connection through New York importer The House of Burgundy, then found a new home at Château de Saint-Aubin after the Piffaut family acquired the château and vineyards. The result is a Burgundy house with a historic Santenay origin, a Saint-Aubin estate and labels that stretch from everyday regional Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to named Côte de Beaune sites.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Prosper Maufoux began in Santenay, first operating from a private mansion on the village’s main square. Its current Saint-Aubin address puts the estate within the Côte de Beaune, where Chardonnay can appear under a broad Bourgogne label or carry the narrower name of Saint-Aubin, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet or Chassagne-Montrachet. That hierarchy changes what the label is telling you: Bourgogne bottlings bring together fruit from a wider area, while the named Premier Cru wines focus attention on a defined appellation site.
The estate’s holdings include Saint-Aubin Premier Cru and Premier Cru sites in Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet, alongside Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. This gives the house a range in which Chardonnay can move from a direct, regional expression toward wines tied to individual Côte de Beaune appellations, while Pinot Noir provides the red counterpart in the Bourgogne range.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The house describes its work as modern and non-interventionist, using slow extraction and gentle vinification. In a Pinot Noir such handling is relevant because extraction governs how much colour, fruit skin character and tannin enter the wine; in the 2023 Bourgogne Pinot Noir, a cold maceration at 10°C for two to three days comes before roughly fifteen days of vatting. Twelve months in stainless steel then avoids adding an overt oak flavour to its cherry-led fruit.
The two named whites show a different cellar choice. Bourgogne Chardonnay ferments, completes malolactic fermentation and spends ten months in stainless steel, preserving a floral, fresh-fruited profile and a lively finish. Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc combines stainless steel with approximately 30% French-oak élevage over twelve months; the barrel share, including new oak within that component, brings subtle wood and more weight alongside citrus, candied fruit and mineral notes.
Wines to know
The range in view
Prosper Maufoux divides its portfolio into Grands Classiques and Vins Rares. The Grands Classiques are described as fruity and subtly taut, and include accessible regional wines such as Bourgogne Chardonnay and Bourgogne Pinot Noir. The Vins Rares move into the named village and classified sites, including Premier Cru wines from Saint-Aubin, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet, plus Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru.
Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2023 is 100% Pinot Noir blended from terroirs in Côte-d’Or, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne. Its cold soak, measured vatting and stainless-steel ageing produce a red built around strawberry, cherry, red berries, spice and firm tannin, with a savoury meaty note beneath the fruit. Bourgogne Chardonnay 2023, also varietal, draws on selected Côte Chalonnaise and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune parcels; its all-steel upbringing keeps body moderate and the fruit bright. Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc adds barrel-derived breadth without losing citrus-driven acidity.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Choose Prosper Maufoux Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2023. It is 100% Pinot Noir, sourced across Côte-d’Or, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne, then given a two-to-three-day cold maceration at 10°C, roughly fifteen days of vatting and twelve months in stainless steel. The result is a dry red with cherry and strawberry fruit, spice, savoury meatiness, juicy body and firm tannin. It comes first because the winemaking steps are unusually clear in the glass: cold maceration and vatting build fruit and grip, while stainless steel leaves oak outside the picture.