It started with a bottle of rosé.

The odds of us first carrying PIERRE-HENRI ROUGEOT’s wines were stacked against him. It started with tasting a 3 year old bottle of rosé from a Burgundy appellation that's not known for any; something that should have tasted pretty tired.

But, in the case of Rougeot, this aged rosé was eye opening: so delicious, it transcended the style. A vivid, firm wine that spoke more to Gamay and Pinot than it did to pink wine. This was in 2021, and many of you discovered the same joy in this almost-too-delicious bottle.

Fast forward to 2023 and we’re pleased to share a large-ish set of wines from his family Domaine, and his personal micro-négoce project. More below!

Pierre-Henri Rougeot is a talented guy. After wine school in Beaune and a year working the vineyards for Ettiene de Montille, he landed a job with an artisan cooper. There, he was exposed to top cellars (like DRC and Ganevat), which sparked a desire to explore a low intervention approach to winemaking.

It was an approach he could bring back to his family winery (Domaine Rougeot) in Meursault. A domain that, at the time, was making workhorse wines despite some incredible land holdings.

In 2010 he stepped back into production at the winery alongside his father, and the domaine took its first steps into organic farming (they are now Biodynamic). Work in the cellar pivoted to relatively hands-off winemaking:

The reds see mostly whole bunch, whites are whole clustered pressed; and all see native fermentations. Even rarer in this part of the wine world, Pierre-Henri does not sulfur all of the finished wines. Rather, he decides (barrel by barrel) which wines need sulfur, and which have the profile to be sans soufre.

Many sites (from the entry-level Passetoutgrain, to Santenots and all the way up to Charmes) see two completely different bottlings. The sulfured vs sans soufre bottlings have different packaging - which this retailer appreciates.

All of the same - farming, cellar practices - can be said for his self-named négoce project, which he began in 2017 in a separate cellar in Beaune. Here, he explores a very personal POV on both his family fruit and fruit from friends (who have last names like Boisson 🙂).

This attention to detail leaves you with wines that feel natural-yet-high-touch. And, express the emotive character that got most of us loving Burgundy in the first place.

If you're looking for a new bright spot in Burgundy to enjoy - look no further.

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