Domaine Arlaud

The middle of World War 2 might seem an inauspicious time to create a new domaine, but so it was that in 1942 Joseph Arlaud married Renée Amiot, who brought with her an array of vineyards that would be the base on which they could build something special together. The newly married couple bought various parcels of vines in the Côte de Nuits and an old salt cellar (Grenier du Sel) in Nuits-Saint-Georges, in which to age all their new wines. In 1983 their son, Hervé took charge of the domaine and continued his parents’ philosophy of acquiring new vineyards, with a focus very much on those in Morey-Saint-Denis and its two neighbouring villages, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin.

At the start of the new Millenium, work began on an ambitious new cuverie across the RN74 from the centre of the village (of Morey), which Hervé’s eldest son, Cyprien, would christen by hosting his wedding reception there, just a few days before all the stainless steel cuves were due to arrive. At about this time the domaine (now 15 hectares) moved towards organic farming and by 2010 had gained its official certificate.

Moving quickly forward from this, it then gained its biodynamic certification just 4 years later. Cyprien was now fully in charge and really drove the domaine forward, seeing his vineyards come back to life right in front of his eyes. All the 1ers and Grands Crus sites, which totaled about 5 hectares, are ploughed by horse and worked by hand.

 The soil has become vibrant and teaming with life and the quality of fruit that Cyprien is harvesting is getting better with every vintage. This fundamental change in the quality of fruit, thanks to the natural balance of the vineyards, cannot be overstated in terms of importance to the evolution of the domaine’s wines, qualitatively speaking.

It has also allowed Cyprien to become ever finer in his vinification, with gentler extraction at every stage, much done by gravity and remontage being favoured over pigeage. Whole bunch is judiciously used and new oak is kept at levels where it never gets in the way of terroir nuance. Recent vintages have received great press and there seems to have been a moment over the last 4 or 5 years when Cyprien has just discreetly moved up the hierarchical ladder to join one or two other domaines at the very top of the tree.

It hasn’t been just one thing that is responsible for this progression and it hasn’t been instant, but it has been relentless and inexorable, and, in hindsight, inevitable.