Domaine A. & P. de Villaine has spent the past five decades redefining what the Côte Chalonnaise can be. Founded in 1971 by Aubert de Villaine and his wife, Pamela, the domaine began as a restoration project in Bouzeron, a village long overshadowed by its northern neighbors despite a viticultural history dating back to the monks of Cluny. Aubert approached the land with the same conviction he brought to his work at DRC, championing the region’s potential and elevating aligoté doré in particular, the low yielding, aromatic clone that sets Bouzeron apart. Today the domaine farms 26 hectares across Bouzeron, Rully and Mercurey, producing wines that honor this overlooked corner of Burgundy by crafting wines of clarity, restraint and an unmistakable sense of place.

Farming has been organic since 1986 and guided by biodynamic principles in recent years, with low yields, dense plantings and meticulous hand harvesting. The team, now led by Aubert’s nephew Pierre de Benoist, works with a wide diversity of vine material and a deep respect for the limestone slopes that define the area. Fermentations rely on native yeasts and élevage is gentle, aimed at transparency rather than embellishment. It is an approach that lets each site speak clearly and gives the wines their purity, balance and lasting finesse.

La Fortune comes from pinot noir planted on the limestone rich hillsides of the Côte Chalonnaise and is the domaine’s most joyful and immediate red. The 2022 vintage brings bright red cherry and raspberry framed by fine, herbal detail and a subtle mineral line that keeps everything lifted. The palate is supple and vibrant with just enough structure to give shape, finishing fresh and delicately spiced. It is an easy wine to reach for, expressive of its place, created with the pedigree associated with a visionary and the care that defines every bottle from this historic domaine.