Burgundy is a wonderful region to talk about family, with most of the growers related by blood. Family ties and similar thinking oddly do not go hand in hand. In this narrow valley of golden slopes  similar wine styles and practices at all. Despite sharing family roots, you’d find that vine growing and wine making philosophies can be entirely different between father / mother-and-son / daughter; and among cousins whether close or distant. Based in the heart of Gevrey Chambertin, Claude Dugat and (Bernard) Dugat-Py are a fine example of pair of cousins that are both indisputably world-renowned. Both advocate of low-intervention winemaking, their wine styles come out rather different, with Claude Dugat often coming out aristocratic and stately, and Dugat Py appearing stylish and suave.

Some try to attribute and explain the cousins’ stylistic differences to the use of stems. Claude Dugat is a veteran of 100% destemming for all of his wines; whilst Bernard Dugat Py likes to keep stems (percentage differs according to vintage conditions and vineyard profile e.g. less stems for his Charmes Chambertin to preserve delicate fruit tones) Indeed, stem inclusino does elevate and lift aromatics and may explain the stylish impression. Yet overall it comes down to the sheer, extremely high quality of harvest output that both domaines consistently deliver that allow them to produce superb, uninimitable Burgundies.

For those who like to dig into details, here’s your producer snapshot of the uninimitable cousins:

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Domaine Claude Dugat Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru label

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Domaine Claude Dugat

Established in 1955, the 6-hectare Domaine Claude Dugat is run by Claude Dugat and wife Marie-Therese and their three children, son Bertrand and two daughters Laetitia and Jeanne. Claude Dugat abides by sustainable viticulture principles and refrains from using any herbicides and fertilizers. Vineyard and harvest decisions are all based on intuitive judgment and experience. Ripeness is a test of taste rather than laboratory analysis. Claude Dugat’s yield is on par with that of his neighbours, but it is optimal control of vigour where he manages to harvest berries half the size of his neighbours – an essential component contributing to Claude Dugat’s concentrated, dense yet aristocratic style.

When it comes to winemaking, Claude Dugat believes in 100% destemming. Fermentation happens in concrete tanks and gentle during when once to twice-a-day punchdowns are performed. Wines are then racked into barrels for malolactic fermentation and at least 12 months oak ageing. Age of oak for his Bourgogne bottlings are entirely old (1 year old), whilst his village bottlings use 60% new oak, 40% 1-year-old oak. All cru level bottlings are aged in 100% new oak. Wines are then bottled without fining or filtration.

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Claude Dugat production, totalling annual production of average 2000 cases

  • Bourgogne Rouge (Vines planted in the village of Gevrey Chambertin)
  • Gevrey Chambertin
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru (Blend of Craipillot and La Perriere)
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St Jacques
  • Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru
  • Griotte Chambertin Grand Cru

 

If you crave a taste of Claude Dugat offered at a lower price point, look for Claude Dugat La Gibryotte, a micro negociant founded by his younger children. They offer a Bourgogne Rouge, Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru and Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru.

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Domaine Dugat-Py Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru label

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Domaine Dugat-Py

Like Claude Dugat, they are descendants of a multi-generation winemaking family. Bernard Dugat-Py established Domaine Dugat-Py in 1994, taking his own family name “Dugat”, and maiden name of his wife Jocelyne “Py”. They are staunch believers of organic viticulture and are certified organic since 2003. They invest heavily in vineyard management and hire 5 full-time workers to work on their 10-hectare vineyard holdings. Their vineyards groom a wealth of old vines that are on average older than 65 years, entailing intensive, and specialized manual labour work to tend to the vines.

On winemaking, Bernard Dugat-Py is an advocate of stem inclusion. All his wines see some stems influence and he varies the percentage for different vintage and vineyards. Fermentation takes place in cement or wooden vats during when punchdown and pumpover are done once a day. Minimal intervention on temperature throughout the entire winemaking process conforms with his low-interventionist philosophy. Wines are aged in 100% new oak for cru level onwards. Ageing takes place at a 12th century cellar l’Aulmonerie. Dugat-Py has over the years acquired various old-vine vineyards all over Burgundy, though their strong focus is certainly on Gevrey Chambertin.

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Dugat-Py production, totalling annual production of 2,400 to 3,200 cases

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Regional Appellation [6,000 – 8,200 bottles ]

  • Bourgogne Blanc [ 500 – 700 bottles ]
  • Bourgogne Rouge [ 3,000 – 4,000 bottles ]
  • Bourgogne Cuvee Halinard [ 2,500 – 3,500 bottles ]

Village [ 12,500 – 16,300 bottles ]

  • Gevrey Chambertin VV [ 3,000 – 4,000 bottles ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin Les Evocelles Tres VV [ 1,500 – 2,400 bottles ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin Cuvee Coeur de Roy Tres VV [ 4,500 – 5,100 bottles ]
  • Meursault Tres VV [ 600 – 900 bottles ]
  • Vosne Romanee Tres VV [ 900 – 1,200 bottles ]
  • Pommard Tres VV [ 2,000 – 2,700 bottles ]
  • Chorey les Beaune Tres VV [ Data not available ]
  • Fixin Clos de Fixey [ Data not available ]

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Premier Cru [ 6,000 – 8,350 bottles ]

  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru VV (Vines from 1er Cru Fonteny, Corbeaux and Perriere) [ 1,200 – 1,700 bottles ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru La Perriere VV [ Data not available ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Tres VV [ Data not available ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Fonteny VV [ 500 bottles ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux Tres VV [ 1,200 – 1,800 bottles ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Petite Chapelle VV [ 1,000 – 1,500 bottles ]
  • Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux st Jacques VV [ 500 – 750 bottles ]
  • Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Tres VV [ 700 – 900 bottles ]
  • Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru Sous Fretille VV [ 900 – 1,200 bottles ]

Grand Cru [ 4,520 – 5,970 bottles ]

  • Mazoyeres Chambertin Grand Cru [ 800 – 1,000 bottles ]
  • Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru VV [ 1,800 – 2,400 bottles ]
  • Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru [ 800 – 1,100 bottles]
  • Chambertin Grand Cru [ 220 – 270 bottles]
  • Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru VV [ 900 – 1,200 bottles ]

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Both Claude Dugat and Dugat-Py’s annual production are much less than what the world is thirsting for. Take a look at some of Claude Dugat and Dugat Py bottlings offered on our multi-market platform.