Domaine Dugat Py

This is an old Gevrey domaine, and Loïc Dugat-Py is the thirteenth generation of the family to be associated with the vines. The domaine is housed outside the centre of the village but in the oldest part towards the Combe de Lavaux. Above ground there is nothing particularly notable about the collection of buildings, but below ground can be found the old cellars of the Aumônerie – the name given to a small abbey – which belonged to the St.Benigne Abbey of Dijon. The fabulous underground pillars are reminiscent of those of Jaffelin in Beaune, perhaps even higher and Loïc explains that they are partly Byzantine and Gothic a transition of the 11th century.

The domaine has only 12 hectares – 2 in white – I say ‘only’ because there are a wide range of cuvées here, including 5 grand crus, half a dozen 1er crus and the same again of village wines from mainly Gevrey-Chambertin but there is also Vosne, Pommard and Meursault. It was the marriage of Fernand Dugat and Jeanne Bolnot in 1923 that resulted in the creation of the first Domaine Dugat, Loïc’s Father Bernard made his first vintage in 1975 – and it was in the 1970s that they began domaine bottling, before that Maison Leroy had long been a client for wines such as their Gevrey-Champeaux and Charmes-Chambertin. In 1979 Bernard married Jocelyn Py but it wasn’t until 1994 that the name of the domaine changed to Domaine Dugat-Py. Loïc joined his parents from 1996 and it was he that made his first trials with organic viticulture in 1999, the whole domaine moving to organic principles in 2003. Loïc, whose first ‘all alone’ vintage was 2005, explains that despite working in Bio for 15+ years (it depends on the plot), the domaine has only been certified for 2 years – “It wasn’t a priority before,” says Loïc, “But I really decided to push for it, and today we also work 2 hectares only with a horse.”