Estate

HISTORY
Domaine Jacques Prieur's mythical story started on February 24th, 1868, with the wedding, in Bligny-les-Beaune, of Claude Duvergey (22 years old) and Marie Taboureau (19 years old).

Marie was born in Bligny in 1848 and Claude in Meursault in 1845. Their parents were winegrowers.
Claude founded the Duvergey-Taboureau House and thrived in the wine and spirit trade, without investing directly, at first, in viticulture.

In 1879, he acquired the property of "Les Herbeux" in Meursault, current heart of Domaine Jacques Prieur... and started buying vineyards. He then made a risky bet with the arrival of the terrible phylloxera in Côte d'Or. However, his choices would finally make him a visionary thanks to the use of American plants as cure.
In 1889 he acquired the famous Clos de Mazeray Monopole (Meursault), a parcel of Volnay Santenots, 4.5 ha (11 ac) of Clos Vougeot and 2 lots in Chambolle-Musigny.
In 1890 he became the sole owner of the prestigious Clos des Santenots in Volnay, 1.5 ha (3.7 ac) of Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes and 0.45 ha (1.1 ac) of the mythical Montrachet (notably supplemented by the "Dent de Chien" parcels in 1891 and 1892). He then ran his trade business in the Château de Bligny bought in 1890 for his wife.

Without any direct heir, both spouses would turn to the Taboureau family side. Thus they married in 1891 Hélène Taboureau (Marie's niece) and a well-born young man from Beaune, Henri Prieur (itinerant salesman). They benefited from a very advantageous marriage contract including some goods but especially the promise of a profit-sharing in the Duvergey-Taboureau's trade.

Jacques Prieur was born on January 31st, 1893, from the union of Hélène and Henri.

The estate kept growing in 1895 with a new acquisition in Musigny and a swap between a plot of Clos Vougeot and parcels of Chambertin and Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze.
In 1899, Claude Duvergey added Volnay Champans to its collection and in 1907, Chevalier-Montrachet.

He died on March 9th, 1920, and bequeathed all of his property to Jacques Prieur (his wife remaining stakeholder). Soon after, the latter married Madeleine Darnat, daughter of sheets merchants from Lyon.

In 1924, Jacques Prieur and comte Jules Lafon instituted the famous "Paulée de Meursault" in order to celebrate the end of harvests with all winegrowers from the village.
Marie Duvergey-Taboureau died in 1935 and definitely left the estate to Jacques Prieur.
Co-founder of the legendary Chevaliers du Tastevin, he gave his name to the estate in 1956.

He died in 1965 and his wife in 1974, leaving the winery to their 6 children.

In 1988, in order to avoid selling the winery to foreign shareholders, 5 important French families united, among them Labruyère Family, winegrowers and entrepreneurs from South Burgundy.

In the 1990s the Grands Crus of Corton-Bressandes and Corton-Charlemagne would enrich the mosaic of terroirs of the estate.

Today leading this jewel of Burgundy, Labruyère Family, supported by Prieur Family's heirs, promotes and defends, every single day, the great terroirs of Burgundy, worldwide.
TEAM
Edouard Labruyère
Passionate oenophile and Burgundy lover, Edouard Labruyère took over the reins of the estate in 2008 upon the request of his father, Jean-Pierre, famous Burgundian entrepreneur and strong advocate of great French terroirs. Edouard leads today all family wineries located in Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Nadine Gublin
Nadine has been Domaine Jacques Prieur's oenologist since 1990 and technical manager since 2009 (along with Domaine Labruyère in Moulin-à-Vent). Well-known from fine wine enthusiasts, she was awarded "1998 Best French Winemaker" by Revue du Vin de France. Supporter of sustained farming, precise winemaking and optimal ripeness, Nadine is the perfect representative of this generation of eonologists who left their mark on the last 20 years.
Martin Prieur

In 1956, Jacques Prieur, co-founder of the famous Chevaliers du Tastevin, gave his name to the famous Domaine in Meursault. His grandson, Martin Prieur, has been working and living on the estate since 1990. Today sales manager along with Edouard, he is the witness and heir of great viticultural traditions. He completes a trio of Burgundy experts and knows better than anyone history of Domaine Jacques Prieur.

Daniel Godefroy
Vineyard manager of Domaine Jacques Prieur since 1997, Daniel comes from a family of winegrowers established in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. Backed by 12 years of experience in Alsace of which 7 for Preiss-Zimmer House in Riquewihr and 5 at Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Turckheim, Daniel and his team are the guarantors of our terroirs expressions. Using the most environment-friendly processes, Daniel knows each parcel by heart and strives, vintage after vintage, to reveal the fantastic potential of our vineyards.
VINEYARDS
Settled in Meursault since the 19th century, Domaine Jacques Prieur today comprised 21 hectares (52 acres) of vineyards (11ha/27ac in Pinot Noir and 10ha/25ac in Chardonnay).
The estate owns almost one third of all Burgundian Grands Crus Appellations: Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, Corton-Bressandes, Echézeaux, Clos Vougeot, Musigny, Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Bèze.
14 Premiers Crus complete this collection: Puligny-Montrachet Les Combettes, Meursault Perrières, Meursault Charmes, Meursault Santenots, Volnay Clos des Santenots (Monopole), Volnay Champans, Pommard Les Charmots, Beaune Champs Pimont (Chardonnay & Pinot Noir), Beaune Clos de la Féguine (Monopole, Chardonnay & Pinot Noir), Beaune Grèves (Chardonnay & Pinot Noir) and Chambolle-Musigny Combe d'Orveau.
Finally the winery also possesses 1 iconic Village Appellation: Meursault Clos de Mazeray (Monopole).

Led by Daniel Godefroy, vineyard manager, the estate has been following sustained farming methods for many years: inputs have been dramatically reduced, soils tillage has replaced chemical treatments, some tasks respect moon calendar, etc.
The fierce will of the Labruyère Family to bequeath healthy terroirs to future generations and the respect of the unique identity of each parcel enforced the adoption of this "haute-couture" and sustainable viticulture.
The Cellar
Harvest is carried out manually using small 15kg crates in order to preserve grapes quality. Every year harvests start date is carefully chosen according to sugar and phenolic ripeness. Grapes then go through a double sorting table in order to keep the best fruits only.
Pinot Noir : destemming 100% is the rule but we now use more and more whole bunches depending on vintages and parcels. Maceration lasts 20 days in average in temperature-controlled open wooden vats. We generally make 2 treadings per day during alcoholic fermentation. We process 100% of malolactic fermentations. Maturing generally takes place in oak barrels, between 50 and 80% new for Grands Crus, often 30% for Premiers Crus and sometimes in big oak casks from 25 to 35hl. The choice of barrels (using several suppliers) depends on terroirs and vintages. Maturing period is very variable but is often close to 20 months.

Chardonnay : whole bunches are squeezed out in a pneumatic press. The juice then settles for 12 to 14 hours. Alcoholic fermentation and maturing both take place in oak barrels. As for the reds, the choice of barrels varies dramatically depending on vintages and terroirs. Malolactic fermentation is 100% completed on all wines. Maturing period will also depends on unique characters of each wine but is also often close to 20 months.

HISTORY

TEAM

Edouard Labruyère

Nadine Gublin

Martin Prieur

Daniel Godefroy

VINEYARDS

The Cellar

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