A beautiful family story !

Old winery of the domain with its old press

‘Monsieur’ and ‘Madame’ Monthelie created this domaine over 300 years ago and its original vaulted cellars still bear witness to that time.
The domaine is located in Monthelie, in the heart of the Côte de Beaune, and covers 13 hectares of vineyards in Monthelie, Pommard, Volnay and Meursault. The domaine has long been run by the Monthelie and Douhairet families.

In the early 1970’s, sisters Armande and Charlotte Douhairet inherited the domaine and decided to go their separate ways. Armande fought to keep her half of the domaine whilst Charlotte decided to sell hers.

In 1989, Armande was joined by André Porcheret, her adopted son. André worked on improving quality at the domaine whilst continuing his work as governor for the Hospices de Beaune.

In 2004, Burgundy lost an important female figure in the wine industry when Armande Douhairet, fondly known by all as the ‘Miss’, sadly passed away.
In that same year André Porcheret was joined by his granddaughter who brought her own expertise and personal values to the domaine.

In 2014, Vincent – Cataldina’s companion – left his native Belgium to settle in Monthélie, the historic cradle of the estate. Cataldina & Vincent now form a complementary duo, in love with the beautiful vine, good wine and life!

ANDRÉ PORCHERET, the visionary !

In parallel with the development of the Estate with Miss Armande, André has been able to develop his talent throughout Burgundy.
Thus, manager at the Hospices de Beaune from 1976 to 1988, he was already a great figure in Burgundy wines when he was called by the illustrious Lalou Bize-Leroy (who was also co-manager of Romanée-Conti), to take take control of his personal wine estate and ensure its conversion to the principles of biodynamics… A huge gamble that he held until 1993, more than 25 years before the emergence of these new eco-responsible viticulture methods!
André was then recalled in 1993 by the Hospices de Beaune, with the ambitious mission of restoring to this noble institution the prestige that it had gradually lost when he left, a challenge that it would take up with talent and commitment until 1999.

Today, CATALDINA & VINCENT !

Cataldina and Vincent now work the 8 hectares of vines, 13 appellations of the Domaine, with love and commitment. Their philosophy is to respect family traditions whilst using new, modern, environmentally-friendly techniques in order to continue to improve quality. Beyond the quest for excellence in glass, Cataldina & Vincent are also lovers of life: for them, wine is a magic potion that makes you happy when you share it… That’s why you will always be welcome to the Domaine!

Our engagments & working method

QUALITY

We attach great importance to the development of healthier and more sustainable viticulture. We have always used new solutions and knowledge to develop our farming practices. So we move forward in a thoughtful and meticulous way to better know and better anticipate. Our voluntarist policy in favor of the environment is guided by choices from the latest scientific knowledge, which are intended to be simultaneously evolutionary, economically viable and open to progress. We are constantly seeking to optimize our cultivation methods and winemaking practices to produce our wines with the greatest possible respect for the environment. This is a crucial issue for us, and a daily commitment.

In the vineyard we opted for an alternative to chemical weeding, all our plots are plowed, with various mechanical tools guided on tractors. In terms of technological innovation, we equip our plots with sophisticated weather stations that allow us to optimally control phytosanitary treatments and optimize the doses applied.
Since 2018, the ancestral winery has been renovated, modernized. The wooden wine-making tanks, which consume a lot of water, have been replaced by stainless steel tanks. A new tool which in addition to granting us better working comfort as well as improved storage capacity, allows us to manage water resources. Both the stainless steel vats and the wooden vats are thermoregulated, for perfect control of fermentations. Without denying anything of tradition, the estate has adapted to great advances in oenology for the vinification of its wines. As in the vineyard, there is the same concern for excellence.
The harvest is 100% manual, carried out in small perforated cases. This traditional method makes it possible to preserve intact grapes, unpopped berries, without crushing. The grapes are all harvested at their optimum maturity, at the coolest hours of the day. The operations are then linked quickly to protect them as much as possible from the oxidation phenomenon which naturally begins at harvest. The most important step is that of sorting, which we impose ourselves severe, it is essential. The aging of the wines, on average 12 months for the whites and 15 months for the reds, is done in our cellars, in traditional Burgundian barrels. The percentage of new barrel varies according to the vintages and appellations, never exceeding 30%. Bottling takes place at the estate.

Our estate is certified HVE level 3 (High Environmental Value)

The HVE (High Environmental Value) certification is a voluntary approach implemented by wine-growers or farmers which aims to identify and enhance practices that respect the environment.
This certification makes it possible to minimize the pressure of agricultural practices on the environment (air, climate, water, soil, biodiversity, landscapes).
Our domain is certified “HVE level 3”: it is the level of excellence of the system, for farms with a high level of biodiversity, based on the phytosanitary strategy, the management of fertilization and water resources, a very low use of inputs.