his is Royer. This is another Burgundy. This is not the same Burgundy as Vosne-Romanée or Gevrey-Chambertin. Still, it is. The northern part of the Mâconnais may not be as well-known, but there is no shortage of pinot noir or chardonnay here.

Charles-Édouard Debreuille has been running Domaine Debreuille since 2015. His father Michel Debreuille had taken the first steps back in 1984 by planting a small plot of aligoté. He never went into wine full time. Instead he would keep his day job, while spending the evenings and the weekends tending to the vines.

– He didn’t make any wine himself until 1997, explains Charles-Édouard Debreuille. Up until then the grapes had been delivered to the local cooperative. The goal was to eventually leave the cooperative, but he never managed to do that completely.

Domaine Debreuille of today produces twelve different cuvées, from aligoté, chardonnay, gamay and pinot noir. All vineyards are in Royer, where the winery is today, and in the neighbouring commune of Plottes, where the winery used to be, up until 2017. The northern part of the Mâconnais, west of the town of Tournus, is all regional appellations. No village appellations. No premier or grand crus.

Wine is definitely cheaper here, compared with the neighbouring Côte Chalonnaise, not to mention the Côte d’Or. The cooperatives still play an important role in this part of Burgundy. A large part of the wine produced here comes from them.

– When I took on the domaine the idea was to increase the surface area in order to be able to work full time and to leave the cooperative completely, explains Charles-Édouard Debreuille. My father had four hectares. When you only have that and deliver to the cooperative it is not enough to make a living. With seven-eight hectares you might. What you really need is about 15 hectares. But I didn’t have the financial muscles to pull that off in one go. And besides, I wasn’t really interested in being that kind of winegrower.

There were vineyards in the family even before his father. Charles-Édouard Debreuille has taken on close to two hectares from his maternal grandfather. The vines are all of respectable age. The average age is well over 60 years. The only downside, according to Charles-Édouard Debreuille, is that there is a large portion of gamay.

– When I took on the vineyards I had almost four hectares. More than one hectare was gamay. Since then it has become an asset, as we have started to develop it ourselves. Selling to the cooperative would give you a maximum of €1,30 per litre. A disaster. The gamay is fairly easy to work with and it is productive, so it allows us to have an entry-level cuvée, a Mâcon rouge, at around five euros a bottle.

– My maternal grandfather never made any wine. All his grapes went to the cooperative. My paternal grandfather did, but he only had 70 ares. It was more of a hobby for him.

Charles-Édouard Debreuille started out as a landscaper. His father never pushed him towards the winegrower profession. As most kids growing up in a winegrower family Charles-Édouard Debreuille had to help out in the vineyards, and as for most kids in that situation it made him rule it out as future career.

– At the same time I didn’t want to abandon what my father had created. Growing up I only saw the drawbacks, but I slowly began to appreciate other sides of the job. We also had the opportunity to take on this place for the winery. So my career as a landscaper ended after just a year.

The Bourgogne blanc of Domaine Debreuille comes from vineyards in Plottes and Royer, aged from four to 70 years. The Mâcon-Chardonnay is more limited geographically. The wine is 100 per cent chardonnay, but the Chardonnay suffix does not refer to the grape variety. Instead it refers to the village of Chardonnay just south of Plottes. While a Bourgogne blanc may be produced from vineyards all across Burgundy, a Mâcon-Chardonnay is limited to the commune of Chardonnay and its neighbours.

– The Mâcon-Chardonnay is a good example of the wines of the Mâconnais, says Charles-Édouard Debreuille. It’s a chardonnay which is slightly perfumed. The vines are 35-40 years old. There is a small part which was planted in 1925, but that is just ten per cent.

– For the Bourgogne blanc we lose the Mâcon appellation since it is quite strict when it comes to geographical limits. It is a blend from vineyards in Plottes and Royer. We can make Mâcon-Chardonnay in Plottes and Mâcon-Mancey in Royer, but if we blend the two it becomes a Bourgogne blanc.

Then there is the Clos Gandin, which is a bit particular. It’s a declassified Mâcon-Chardonnay. It was originally sold as a Bourgogne blanc and not wanting to confuse the clients Charles-Édouard Debreuille has decided to keep it that way.

– Despite the name it is not surrounded by walls, he explains. The name Clos Gandin dates back to Napoleonic times. There may have been a time when there were walls, but I haven’t been able to find any information.

– One third of the Clos Gandin is very old. The vines are 135 years old. The remaining two thirds were planted in 2014. We have chosen to plant the 809 clone of chardonnay, also known as chardonnay muscaté. It is a clone which is a little bit more difficult, but it produces a wine which is more like old vines in taste. The clos is facing west and especially the bottom part is quite steep. You really have to hang on to the tractor when go there. We are only two domaines in this lieu-dit.

The red Mâcon of Domaine Debreuille is no youngster either. 60 years is the average age here. From a financial point of view these are vines that should be uprooted, but Charles-Édouard Debreuille hesitates.

– It doesn’t really make sense to keep these vines, he says. But I have decided to keep them, because they are the family heritage. My grandfather planted them, maybe some of the older ones were planted by my great-grandfather. There is also a lot of work involved when uprooting and replanting. And when you do that you need to let the soil rest for five years before you can replant. If I replant today it is not a vineyard I will be able to profit from it when it has reached 60 years. At this point this vineyard has a lower yield, but the quality is good.

There is also a red Mâcon-Mancey. This was the last wine to be brought back from the cooperative and included in the domaine portfolio. As for the Mâcon rouge this is 100 per cent gamay and the first vintage was 2020.

Charles-Édouard Debreuille produces two pinot noir cuvées – Bourgogne and Bourgogne, En Cras.

– The Bourgogne, En Cras comes from red soil. It is at the top of the hill, where there soil is not very deep. The vines were planted in the 1993. The name En Cras refers to a limestone plateau and the vineyard is facing east. It is a parcel where the yield is low, just 20 hl/ha. That is the maximum you can have there. This gives a very concentrated wine and dark colour, almost too dark for a pinot noir. In order to add a little bit of complexity the élevage is done in barrels.

– Generally speaking we have two main types around here. You have white clay with friable limestone, and you have more reddish clay, rich in iron oxide, with very hard limestone.

© 2025 Ola Bergman