Collection: Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux

After the arrival of son Charles, the harvest yield is halved, the wines are vinified with no or minimal sulfur and as far as possible in whole bunches of grapes at the same time with as little intervention as possible. The wine is therefore now with much more precision, harmony, elegance and appears very natural and true to Burgundy's terroir. They are refined and tight and Charles has regained the domain in the top league. His Mentor Leroy undoubtedly has an influence on him.

No doubt that it is the domaine of the future, which many Burgundy lovers are now also looking for.

Charles Lachaux is just 29 years old, but he is responsible for running the family domaine, Arnoux-Lachaux (formerly known as Robert Arnoux), with 14 hectares of vines spread over some of Burgundy's top fields.

Lachaux takes an empirical approach rather than a strictly scientific one, looking closely at what works best. In the vineyards, he has adopted the techniques of Lalou Bize Leroy, which allows the vines to grow a little more and does not mechanically uncover them. All trimming, which is done very late, is done by hand and is based on observation. Lachaux believes that there is more precision this way, and for him it is important that each vine is treated differently. 'At night I dream about what we do in the vineyard,' he says. 'At the time, Lalou was considered completely insane. She is still considered crazy by some. "The first plowing under the vine is also done manually. 'We are trying to become more simple with fewer machines and more manual work.'

'In wine production, what pleases the eyes is not good,' he says. In the past, clean rows without grass were thought to be a sign of good wine production. 'Instead of clean, neat vines, we have branches everywhere; it's about respecting the cycle of the vine. '

Lachaux has combated diseases using a pruning method called Guyot Poussard. This is an old technique that respects the flow of wine from juice. He has also performed curettage and cut dead wood from the affected vines using a small chainsaw. The result is no more Esca (one of the main diseases), better yields and healthy vines. But it takes time: for his half-hectare Suchot plot it took 36 days (he worked alone), and for his third-hectare holding in Romanee St Vivant it took 20 days. But for old vines in famous vineyards, it is worth doing.

He does not have organic or biodynamic circulation, even though 95% of the products he sprays are organic. For the past four years, he has been using some plant-derived sprays that are not yet certified. Charles is convinced that the future will involve movements beyond biodynamics and that it is not good to depend on copper (allowed and quite important in biodynamic farming where downy mildew is a risk). The problem with biodynamics for him is also that it only matters what you spray with, but not how you work.

He has vineyards in 15 appellations. 'We're looking for the most nuances we can have,' says Lachaux. 'I look for differences between the wines; I'll let the appellations do the talking. '

Lachaux believes that with the high prices Burgundy producers receive for their wine, there may be a risk of complacency. "Many manufacturers work to be safe," he says. 'There are too many wines that are disappointing for the price. Now it is quite easy to produce a good wine without mistakes. With the price of Burgundy, if we don't move anymore, who else will in the wine world? "He adds," too many people are more passionate about the money they want to make than the wine. People think about money. '

One of the threats to Burgundy is because of the extreme value of the wines, the succession process will mean that family members who want to stay in the vineyard cannot buy out other family members who do not. As a result, domains must be sold. This already begins, for example, with Pinault's purchase of Rene Engel. 'In a few years we will end up like Bordeaux,' says Lachaux. 'You lose a little of the Burgundian spirit; you lose a little of your soul. '

Lachaux is not playing it safe. He has replanted part of the Aux Regniots vineyard that was previously occupied by an almond tree. This plot has been replanted with an incredibly high density of 25,000 plants per Ha, with each vine on a wooden staff.

He also uses a whole cluster in his winemaking. Most of the village wines are 70% whole bunch, and beyond this everything is pretty much 100%. For whole bunches, he just puts the grapes in the tub (the size varies depending on the plot). After this, fermentation starts and there is no recipe for how to control this: it is judged by taste. Usually the wine is pressed out after 10-11 days, so there is no cold pre-soaking or after fermentation. He is also not interested in new oak and uses 10% in village wines and rises to a maximum of 30% in Grand Crus.

Charles Lachaux loves wine and he understands wine, and we suspect that is why he makes some very exciting wines.