Domaine Lejeune

Generally, sleeping domaines are brought back to life by the arrival of the next generation, who feel inspired to breathe much needed new life into an estate that their family has let drift aimlessly along for a number of years.

However, in the case of Domaine Lejeune, which was founded back in 1753 and is based in the heart of Pommard, the revitalisation came f the family in the shape of young Louis Belleroche. Louis had spent the previous 12 years honing his craft at places like Heitz-Lochardet and more recently at Domaine des Lambrays under the watchful eye of the brilliant Jacques Devauges. But with an investor ready to back him when needed, it was just a case of waiting for the right opportunity to come along. And in the autumn of 2022 it did. With the previous owner deciding to hang up his pipette, Louis was quick to jump in, recognising the enormous potentialne-hectare estate.

Walking into the domaine, one can’t help but feel the sense of potential and energy that Louis and his new team have already bought to the property in the twelve months since taking on this project. There is so much to do both in the cuverie and the vineyards, but with some great plots and lots of old vines the raw ingredients are already in place. And, judging by Louis’ first harvest, progress will be quick and dramatic.

His passionate work in the vineyards will be an ongoing labour of love which will gradually improve the quality of fruit he has to play with. But his work in the cuverie will be much more immediately felt, as we witnessed by tasting through his first vintage.

The approach of the previous incumbents to winemaking could be described as old school at best, clumsy and brutal at worst. 100% whole bunch for every wine in every vintage, followed by a level of extraction that makes one wince. Why do just one pigeage when you can do 20 or 30 per cuvée?!

While keen to use some stems in the right conditions and in the right proportions in the future, Louis is keen to bring his fruit up to a level of quality whereby using whole bunches brings positive elements to the winemaking process. And, in terms of extraction, Louis is already working with a gentler approach to avoid extracting harsh tannins and to maximise the aromatically hedonistic nature of the wines.