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Buisson vineyard

Domaine Henri & Gilles Buisson

The Buisson family has been present in the village of Saint Romain in the Cote d’Or since the twelfth century.

The Buisson family has been present in the village of Saint Romain in the Cote d’Or since the twelfth century. In 1947, Henri and Marguerite Buisson decided to begin bottling their wine at the domaine and selling it under their own label. That is now the family tradition carried on in noble fashion by their son, Gilles Buisson, who works an estate of nineteen hectares with the able assistance of his wife, Monica, and their two sons, Franck and Frédérick.

Since the 1970s the vineyards have been worked according to organic principles. As of 2009, the estate has been officially certified organic by the ECOCERT organization. Vines are planted at a density level of 10,000 per hectare. Of the 19 hectares owned by the domaine, eleven are planted to red pinot noir and eight are planted to Chardonnay.

The vineyards of Saint Romain are often overlooked since they are located to the west of some of the most famous vineyards of the Cote de Beaune and are somewhat isolated in a valley tucked away on the road that runs from Meursault and Volnay through Auxey Duresses and then on to Saint Romain. This appellation, however, deserves considerably more attention as the exposure of the vineyards is excellent, the slopes are steep and the soil is a mix of clay, limestone and marne. The slightly cooler temperatures result in a longer growing season and wines that carry a pleasant and refreshing level of acidity. The Buisson domaine is a fine source of terroir-expressive wines that offer outstanding value.

Person in field textured background of grapevines

Since the 1970s the vineyards have been worked according to organic principles.

Farming

Practicing organic since the 1970’s, certified by Ecocert since 2009, certified Biodynamic by Biodivin since 2017

Treatments

Copper sulfate only

Ploughing

Annual ploughing to promote soil health

Soils

Limestone-clay

Vines

Average vine age 50 years; young vines average 15 years; all vines trained in Guyot and planted at c. 10,000 vines/ha.

Yields

Controlled with severe pruning and extensive debudding

Harvest

Entirely manual, usually in late September

PURCHASING

Entirely estate fruit

Fermentation

Spontaneous, in barrel for white wines, in stainless-steel tanks for red wines. Whites are not destemmed, reds see partial destemming

Extraction

Bâtonnage employed only to counter reduction, a mixture or pigeages and remontages for red wines

Chaptalization

Chaptalization when necessary

Pressing

Whole-cluster, direct pneumatic pressing for white wines; pneumatic pressing for red wines

Malolactic Fermentation

Occurs spontaneously in barrel in the spring

Élevage

10-12 months in a mixture of 228-l, 500-l, and 350-l barrels, with new barrels only purchased to replace defective barrels.

LEES

Wines stay on their fine lees for 10-12 months.

FINING & FILTRATION

Bentonite fining, plate filtration

SULFUR

Added only at bottling, with c. 40-50 mg/l total. “Absolu” wines see no added sulfur, and have 25-30 mg/l total sulfur.

Farming

Practicing organic since the 1970’s, certified by Ecocert since 2009, certified Biodynamic by Biodivin since 2017

Treatments

Copper sulfate only

Ploughing

Annual ploughing to promote soil health

Soils

Limestone-clay

Vines

Average vine age 50 years; young vines average 15 years; all vines trained in Guyot and planted at c. 10,000 vines/ha.

Yields

Controlled with severe pruning and extensive debudding

Harvest

Entirely manual, usually in late September

PURChASING

Entirely estate fruit

Fermentation

Spontaneous, in barrel for white wines, in stainless-steel tanks for red wines. Whites are not destemmed, reds see partial destemming

Extraction

Bâtonnage employed only to counter reduction, a mixture or pigeages and remontages for red wines

Chaptalization

Chaptalization when necessary

Pressing

Whole-cluster, direct pneumatic pressing for white wines; pneumatic pressing for red wines

Malolactic Fermentation

Occurs spontaneously in barrel in the spring

Élevage

10-12 months in a mixture of 228-l, 500-l, and 350-l barrels, with new barrels only purchased to replace defective barrels.

Lees

Wines stay on their fine lees for 10-12 months.

Fining & Filtration

Bentonite fining, plate filtration

Sulfur

Added only at bottling, with c. 40-50 mg/l total. “Absolu” wines see no added sulfur, and have 25-30 mg/l total sulfur.

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