Domaine Dugat-Py: A legacy of evolution and elegance in Gevrey-Chambertin

Some Burgundy lovers think of Domaine Dugat-Py’s wines as almost fearsomely concentrated, but a careful tasting through the range shows wines of great sensitivity and elegance.

Although current owner and winemaker Loïc Dugat-Py continues to honour the tradition of his father Bernard, he has adapted techniques in the vineyard and winery to account for global warming and changing consumer tastes, providing eloquent examples of the possibilities of the terroirs that his family works.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for 13 Domaine Dugat-Py wines

History: A family tree rising from the vines

The Dugat family has a long history in Gevrey-Chambertin. Loïc is the 13th generation of a dynasty that traces its roots to 17th-century forebearer Etienne Bollenot.

The modern history of the family begins with Auvergne native Annet Dugat, who arrived in Gevrey at the turn of the 20th century and married into the Gouroux family, owners of vines in Griottes-Chambertin.

His grandson Fernand married Jeanne Bolnot, whose family owned vines in Charmes-Chambertin. Fernand and Jeanne had three children: Maurice, Pierre and Thérèse.

Pierre was the father of Bernard Dugat, Maurice was that of Claude Dugat (of Domaine Claude Dugat), and Thérèse was the mother of Emmanuel and Frédéric Humbert of Domaine Humbert Frères.

Noted author Remington Norman relates in his book The Great Domaines of Burgundy that the family sold nearly all of its Gevrey to négociants (including Maison Leroy) until 1989, although Clive Coates MW mentions, in his book Côte d’Or, wines bottled under the name Pierre Dugat.

Bernard Dugat began to slowly acquire his own vines in Gevrey in 1973, adding them to the Charmes-Chambertin he received from his father; he continued to do so throughout the 1990s.

The family worked together until 1994 when Bernard appended the maiden name of his wife Jocelyn to his own and separated his vines from his cousin’s.

Bernard was joined by his son Loïc in 1996, and the family continued to expand its holdings, which grew from its original 4ha to nearly 16ha today.

Grands crus and old vines

The domaine’s Chambertin grand cru is perhaps its most mythical cuvée. Production is Lilliputian, coming from a parcel of old vines of just five ares (0.05ha) near the top of the Chambertin slope.

Bernard acquired the vines from the Dupont family in the late 1990s. According to Loïc, they were first planted in 1910, hence the name Très Vieilles Vignes.

Dugat-Py is known for its old vines – the average across the entire domaine is 65 years, all planted with cuttings from their own vine stock, a tradition known as massale selection.

The Charmes-Chambertin and Mazoyères-Chambertin are equally remarkable and somewhat easier to find. Although separate lieux-dits, they are part of the same climat, and grapes from Mazoyères can be sold as Charmes.

The combined surface of both is just over 30ha, and most grapes are sold as Charmes. Mazoyères is below Latricières, while Charmes is downslope from Chambertin.

Dugat-Py is one of relatively few producers (along with Perrot-Minot and Camus Père & Fils) that bottle both appellations. At Dugat-Py, the wines are very distinct.

Loïc posits this is because the pebbles are larger in Mazoyères than in Charmes, which is logical since the alluvial fan of the Combe Grisard spills into Mazoyères.

The domaine owns two parcels of Charmes totalling 0.48ha and three small parcels of Mazoyères (0.24ha). The parcel of Mazoyères closest to Charmes is vinified with the grapes from that climat because of the similarity of the terroirs.

A Mazis-Chambertin cuvée rounds out the grand cru offerings.

Premiers crus and village-level

In addition to the grand cru appellations, the domaine makes six premier crus in Gevrey, including Lavaux-St-Jacques, Les Corbeaux, Fonteny (bordering Mazis), Petite Chapelle (bordering Chapelle-Chambertin), Champeaux and La Perrière.

The domaine also produces two different village-level Gevrey-Chambertin. The cuvée with the largest production, Coeur du Roy, blends almost 3ha of vines split between the lieux-dits of Epointeurs, Combe du Dessus and Les Marchais.

There is also a large plot (0.80ha) of Evocelles in Brochon, some of it very old.

Gevrey is the domaine’s stronghold in the Côte de Nuits, but it also farms 0.33ha of village-level Vosne-Romanée in Les Violettes, located along the southern edge of the Clos de Vougeot in Flagey-Echézeaux.

Bernard began to branch out into the Côte de Beaune in 2003, and Loïc’s metayage contract for the Domaine Newman vines in 2019 also included Beaune Grèves premier cru, village Monthélie, and a few small parcels of Chardonnay in Meursault and Chassagne.

Today, the domaine counts over 30 appellations in its portfolio.

Domaine Dugat-Py: The range of appellations

Côtes de Nuits

• Chambertin grand cru
• Charmes-Chambertin grand cru
• Mazoyères-Chambertin grand cru
• Mazis-Chambertin grand cru
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Lavaux-St-Jacques
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Les Corbeaux
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Fonteny
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Petite Chapelle
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Champeaux
• Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru La Perrière
• Gevrey-Chambertin
• Vosne-Romanée
• Fixin
• Bourgogne regionale

Côtes de Beaune

• Corton-Charlemagne grand cru
• Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Morgeot
• Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru Champ Gains
• Beaune 1er cru Grèves
• Beaune 1er cru Clos des Avaux
• Pernand-Vergelesses 1er cru Sous Frétille
• Monthélie 1er cru Les Riottes
• Meursault 1er cru Porusot
• Aloxe-Corton
• Savigny-Les-Beaune
• Auxey-Duresses
• Beaune
• Chorey-lès-Beaune
• Monthélie
• Meursault
• Pommard

Grape growing

Domaine Dugat-Py has had a long devotion to organic grape growing. Bernard began the first trials in Chambertin and the village-level parcels used for Coeur du Roy, which were certified in 2003.

They continued the certification process, and the entire domaine has been certified organic since 2015.

In 2006, they began to work some of the vines by horse, and this is now the case throughout Chambertin, Mazis, Fonteny and Les Evocelles.

Where the gradient necessitates a tractor, they use one weighing just 800kg to minimise soil compaction.

The average yield is kept very low, just 17-18 hl/ha in some vintages.

The vines are slowly being converted to growing on stakes, and the canopy is growing steadily higher. In the premier cru and grand cru parcels, tressage is used to manage the canopy, whereby the long shoots at the top of the plant are woven or braided together, instead of being cut back.

Loïc explains that this exceptionally labour-intensive growing method helps moderate alcohol levels and keep pH levels low.

The final key to the Dugat-Py style is picking fairly early to retain acidity and freshness since Loïc loves what he describes as ‘a wine with peps’ (French vigneron-speak for ‘energy’).

Winemaking style

Winemaking has changed little over the years. Much of the harvest is vinified as whole clusters, averaging 70%-80% in most cuveés, as it was under Bernard’s care.

The wines are also still matured with a fair percentage of new barrels, from 40% for the village-level wines to anywhere from 60%-100% for the grands crus, yet the wines seem more elegant and nuanced today.

The finesse in recent vintages can be chalked up to moderate extraction. Loïc has been careful to limit punching down in hot years to avoid extracting harsh tannins, and the pumping over is done very gently.

The wines also undergo longer barrel ageing today to give silkier, smoother tannins.

For years, the domaine had a reputation for deeply coloured, tannic wines, almost rustic at times, but today I find that this is no longer true.

Loïc has generously tasted many older vintages produced by his father with me, and I have come away convinced that while they may have needed time, at maturity, they are ravishing.

Loïc’s wines, however, seem to be approachable earlier yet do not lack the substance or structure for long ageing.

The Dugat-Py wines merit re-tasting, particularly if you haven’t had them in recent vintages. I am sure many wine lovers will discover in them a great classic of Gevrey-Chambertin.

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