NICOLAS ROSSIGNOL

Nicolas Rossignol

Nicolas Rossignol is one of those winemakers who is getting more and more attention among wine lovers. After graduating in Oenology from Lycée Viticole of Beaune, he gained technicity through different professional experiences with famous estates such as Domaine Vieux Telegraphe, Château La Carbonne as well Domaine Boschendal in South Africa.

Nicolas eventually got back to his Burgundian roots in 2005 to take over the 3ha of family vineyards mostly located in Pommard and Volnay. Over a period of 10 years, Nicolas managed to expand the size of his estate, getting hold of 30 different new appellations to reach the size of 20ha of vines.

Nicolas belongs to a group of famous winemakers such as Bruno Lorenzon, Olivier Lamy and Jean-Marc Vincent, who truly believes into sustainable growing method. One of their main topics of reflection is the no hedging allowing the vines to concentrate the energy sap, managing the yield of the vines. Nicolas is an early adopter of organic farming, also implementing a biodynamic method and following the lunar calendar in every work, either in the vineyard or in the cellar.

“Nicolas has arrived at a mature style that's much more classical than his attention-grabbing aesthetic of yesteryear. Today, he numbers among the Côte de Beaune's most serious producers.”
- Dr William Kelley – The Wine Advocate

Harvest is carried out by hand, using small 8kg crates to avoid grape crushing that could start fermentation. Strong sorting is done in the vines and at the winery, keeping only the best grapes. Most grapes are fully destemmed, and on rare occasions, Nicolas might use a bit of whole cluster if he feels the vintage can handle it.

Fermentation is done in stainless steel vat using only indigenous yeasts. While Nicolas might do a bit of punch down in some vintages, he mostly prefers to pump over to oxygenate wines and do gentle extractions. Wine is then aged in barrels for a period of 12 to 20 months using less than 50% new oak. Proof of his great friendship with Bruno Lorenzon, Nicolas is one of the luckiest to get access to unique Bruno’s barrels to age his wines. Note that Nicolas also experimented a longer ageing, up to 7 years, on specific wines bringing bigger complexity to his wines.

Nicolas does not rack his wine and aims for a late malolactic fermentation to provide great structure. The wine is then bottled without fining nor filtration.

Nicolas does not rack his wine and aims for a late malolactic fermentation to provide great structure. The wine is then bottled without fining nor filtration.