Berry by berry, they say. Baie-par-baie (as it's said in French) is one of the least-seen methods in the cellar, since it’s laborious and not super scalable. It entails hand destemming each bunch (by, yes, each berry) to ensure the berry remains intact. This almost-maniacal way of working is at the heart of Pierre-Olivier Garcia. 

Burghounds might recognize the labels by a slightly different name. In 2016 Pierre-Olivier partnered with friend Matthieur Moron to make wine in their hometown Nuits-Saint-Georges under the ‘Moron-Garcia’ label.’ For three vintages they built a small but glowing reputation for those in-the-know. And, in 2020 Pierre-Olivier picked up where they started, taking full ownership of the tiny operation which combines domaine and negoce fruit. 

He now owns a few parcels (totalling 1 hectare) and sources from 4.5 hectares, all of which are either organically or biodynamically farmed. He has an unusually high understanding of his terroir as his father Jean-Pierre Garcia is one of Burgundy’s leading geologists and a professor in Dijon. The knowledge he brings to each vineyard is almost unmatched. And, if you look at the back label, there's a small easter egg: each has an explanation about the origin of the name of the vineyard.

Fruit is hand harvested in small bins and brought to the cellar where the work is meticulous. Everything is settled into a cold room for a day, sorted and fermented. The regimen is the same for each red except the Brouilly. A third of the fermented fruit is destemmed, a third left whole cluster and the final third is clipped at the bottom of each berry’s individual stem, baie-par-bai. Gentle extraction and pressing is the word here. Pierre-Olivier only uses buckets from the tank to “pump over” and applies an intentional two hour pressing of the the juice off the skins. Elevage and barrel choice depends on the cuvee. And, no cuvee sees sulfur until bottling. 

The end result is a wildly artisan wine that can’t help express its terroir through intense aromatics and fresh fruit.