Winemaker
Benoît Moreau
Winemaker, Domaine Benoît Moreau
- Discipline
- Winemaker
Portrait of Benoît Moreau
i. Biography
Domaine work in Chassagne-Montrachet is measured first in the vineyard: observation, low intervention, and the premise that wine character is set before fruit reaches the cellar. Since 2021, that framework has been carried by Benoît Moreau at Domaine Benoît Moreau, with biodynamic farming, natural winemaking techniques, and a focused range built around Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay. "And that's because I'm doing my best not to poach any clients from the family domaine – so I have to meet a lot of new people," Benoît has said.
The Ascent
Vineyard training gives a grower a different sequence of priorities: soil work, seasonal timing, vine response, then cellar decisions. Early work at Domaine Bernard Moreau placed Benoît Moreau inside that order, grounding the craft in farming before the finished bottle. Precision in this register comes from repeated contact with the same living material. The choices are practical and cumulative: how soil is worked, how canopy is handled, how a vine is read as the season shifts. The farming culture of Domaine Bernard Moreau gave Benoît Moreau a land-based understanding built through direct vineyard labor rather than abstraction. A namesake domaine makes authorship accountable across both field and cellar. At Domaine Benoît Moreau, the agricultural discipline from those earlier years is carried into a closely held Chassagne project where farming, cellar work and personal responsibility remain linked.
Present Day
Biodynamic farming sets the baseline at Domaine Benoît Moreau, with certification underway for his vineyards. The labor model keeps the grower close to the vines: all vineyard work except plowing is manual. Experiments with tressage and hand trimming extend the same attention into canopy practice. White-wine work is adjusted to ripeness before pressing: grapes may be directly pressed or crushed depending on condition. Indigenous yeasts carry fermentation, followed by fermentation and aging in 228, 300- and 500-liter barrels for 15 to 16 months. Vessel choice, duration and handling are used in service of clarity, with Chardonnay framed for definition rather than weight. Red-wine extraction is handled with similar restraint. Whole-cluster inclusion depends on the vintage, ambient yeasts are used, and infusion proceeds without pigeage. Gamay is vinified and aged without added SO2, applying the domaine's natural winemaking principles to a variety that registers cellar handling quickly. The wines are described through elegance, purity and precision. A signature bottling, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Cardeuse Blanc, is notable as a premier cru holding in the portfolio. The 2020 debut lineup was limited to whites from organic and/or biodynamically farmed vineyards around Chassagne, with total production of 9,000 bottles. That first release set the working grammar of the domaine: disciplined farming, restrained cellar decisions, and wines built around finesse.
Career - Founder / proprietor of his own domaine, Domaine Benoît Moreau, Chassagne - Vineyard/farming role, Domaine Bernard Moreau
Distinctions
Recognition within the trade includes Two stars in LRVF's Green Guide for Benoît Moreau.
FAQ What is Benoît Moreau's current position? Benoît Moreau is founder of his own domaine. Where did Benoît Moreau work before? Earlier in his career, Benoît Moreau worked at Domaine Bernard Moreau. What recognition has Benoît Moreau received? Two stars in LRVF's Green Guide.
