Antoine Lepetit de la Bigne has long been one of Burgundy’s most quietly influential forces. He spent eight years at Domaine Leflaive, where he cofounded the École Du Vin et des Terroirs with Anne-Claude Leflaive — an intimate classroom in the Côte d’Or where growers came to deepen their understanding of soil, root, sky, and vine through the lens of biodynamics. After Anne-Claude’s death in 2015, Antoine stepped away from Leflaive and began consulting with a small circle of like-minded growers. One thing led to another, as it does when curiosity meets opportunity. The first vintage of La Pierre Ronde arrived in 2021.
Antoine does not yet farm any vineyards of his own, but the relationships he cultivated over fifteen years of biodynamic consulting gave him access to exceptional fruit from growers who share his philosophy. The wines are unmistakable: bright with energy, rigorous in structure, and pulsing with the clarity of someone who has spent a lifetime listening closely to the earth. Antoine works across barrels, foudres, and amphorae, choosing vessels to serve the terroir rather than impose a house style. All fermentations use ambient yeasts. Minimal sulfur throughout. He is based in Beaune and concentrates on the whites of the Côte de Beaune, with a growing range that now includes Meursault village and premier cru, aligoté from old vines near Corton, and a small amount of pinot noir.
Bourgogne Aligoté Vieilles Vignes comes from two parcels: one at the foot of the hill of Corton in Ladoix-Serrigny, on deep clay-limestone, and another from Nantoux in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, on limestone. The vines are around sixty years old. The juice is pressed directly and aged twelve to fourteen months in a combination of foudre, amphora, and used barrels. It is blended, then aged an additional three months in tank before filtration.
This is aligoté treated with the same seriousness and vision Antoine brings to the rest of his work. The wine is fine and floral, with notes of pineapple and mango over a bed of crushed stone. The amphora and foudre aging give it an airy, open quality allowing the old-vine concentration to speak without a vessel getting in the way.
