Region / Classification: France / Côte de Nuits / Vosne-Romanée
Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Capacity: 750ml
Winery
Domaine Gilbert et Christine Felettig, located in the village of Chambolle-Musigny within Burgundy's Côte de Nuits region, is a rising star among family-run estates in this renowned wine-producing village. Founder Henri Felettig inherited approximately 3 hectares of farmland from his mother in 1965, including vineyards and blackcurrant orchards. Initially, the harvested grapes were sold directly to the Chambolle-Musigny cooperative. It wasn't until 1969 that the Felettig family began producing their own wines. After five years of growth and consolidation, Henri formally established Domaine Henri Felettig in 1974. Concurrently, he acquired several small parcels to expand his vineyard holdings, growing the estate's total vineyard area from 2 hectares to 9 hectares. Through relentless effort, Henri Felettig ascended from an obscure vineyard worker to estate owner, carving out a place for himself within the Chambolle-Musigny landscape.
In 1993, Henri Felettig's children, Gilbert and Christine, formally joined the estate to assist their father in operations and management. They took over the estate after their parents retired in 2005. Under the siblings' combined leadership, the estate reached new heights, gradually expanding the vineyard area to its current 13 hectares. Beyond its Chambolle Musigny holdings, the estate also owns parcels in neighboring villages like Morey Saint Denis and Vougeot, plus a portion of land in Vosne Romanee belonging to Christine's father-in-law, Jean Furois. While Burgundy estates are generally considered boutique, Felettig stands out as a “cult” estate among them. The estate produces an extremely limited quantity, with annual output under 50,000 bottles. Even its village-level wines often yield less than 3,000 bottles. Felettig owns over 130 parcels, including more than 72 distinct vineyards within Chambolle-Musigny, each showcasing unique terroir characteristics. This makes the estate an exceptional example of Burgundy's intricate terroir expression.
Region
The vineyards of Domaine Felettig primarily cultivate three grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Aligoté. Owners Gilbert and Christine steadfastly adhere to organic vineyard management practices. In 2013, they transitioned portions of their vineyards to organic cultivation. Gilbert once remarked that this was a difficult yet necessary decision. The first year of transition brought relentless rainfall, resulting in severe yield losses—some vineyards saw production drop by as much as 50%. Yet, to enhance the vineyards' vitality and uphold sustainable agriculture, the siblings steadfastly maintained their organic principles to ensure grape quality. All vineyard tasks—including bud thinning, pruning, and harvesting—are performed entirely by hand.
Winemaking
In winemaking, Gilbert and Christine have consistently combined traditional winemaking techniques with modern winemaking technology. During harvest season, the estate employs numerous workers to pick grapes at peak ripeness. These grapes undergo rigorous manual sorting in the vineyard before being swiftly transported to the winery. There, they are placed on vibrating tables for secondary screening to remove impurities and inferior berries, ensuring the highest quality of every wine grape. The selected premium grapes undergo destemming and are subjected to a 5-10 day cold maceration at 10°C to prepare for subsequent alcoholic fermentation. The winery never adds artificial yeast, relying solely on indigenous yeast from the grape skins for fermentation, a process lasting three weeks. Following fermentation, the wine is transferred with its lees into oak barrels containing 10%-50% new oak for maturation, aging for 16 to 18 months. The winery refrains from filtering or fining the wine prior to bottling to preserve its tannins and flavor compounds to the greatest extent possible.
