Conventional wisdom holds that grapes from old vines make better wine. The science behind that conventional wisdom is fuzzy, which of course, leads to a plethora of explanations. One sensible one is that older vines yield fewer grapes but that those grapes have more “oomph”—they’ve concentrated the same amount of energy into a smaller volume. Another thought is that the larger volume of wood—the trunk and branches—provide the vine with reserves for withstanding adverse growing conditions. Decades ago, the very smart Doug Frost, MW, MS, offered me the Darwinian idea that the vine’s ability to survive just showed that it was planted in precisely the correct place.
A series of tastings over the years has me questioning that conventional wisdom. But first, let’s start with evidence that confirms the value of old vines.
Pierre Morey, the famed Burgundian winemaker, proved to me the importance of old vines at a tasting in 2009 just after he retired as winemaker at the famed Domaine Leflaive after twenty years. During that entire time, he was doing double duty since he was also the winemaker at this own estate in Meursault. Peter Holt, the legendary sommelier at Blantyre in Lenox (and before that at Boston’s famed Anthony’s Pier 4), organized a grand dinner and even more splendid tasting with Morey, who poured wines from both Domaine Pierre Morey and from Domaine Leflaive. The pairing that is still clearly etched in my mind was the comparison of the 2004 Domaine Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru, Sous Le Dos d’Ane and the less prestigious—at least judging by the label—Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault Les Tessons from the same vintage. Although Les Tessons is a notable lieux-dit, it still carries only a “Village” appellation. Everyone at the tasting, Morey included—remember, he made both wines—felt that the Les Tessons, tasted side by side with the 1er Cru, was a far more interesting and complex wine.
I asked Pierre how a village Meursault could so outshine a 1er Cru, and one from such a famous estate. His response was simple—the age of the vines. The vines at Les Tessons averaged roughly 30 years whereas the vines at Sous Le Dos d’Ane (literally, under the donkey’s back) were only five years old because Domaine Leflaive was replanting the vineyard. He explained that the roots need to go deep into the soil and into the mother rock to extract all the terroir has to offer. When vines are young, they’re like children or adolescents, not absorbing all that they could. He predicted that in another two decades, the Sous Le Dos d’Ane would easily outshine his Tessons because the terroir of Sous Le Dos d’Ane is superior and its roots would have developed by then.
A series of tastings of the wines from the Domaine du Cellier aux Moines, however, shows that the conventional wisdom is not always correct.
The Domaine du Cellier aux Moines, located in Givry, a village in the far less prestigious Côte Chalonnaise, was founded in the 12th century by the Cistercian monks, (moines is French for “monks”) the same Catholic order that founded the Clos Vougeot in the Côte d’Or. Fast forward to 2004 when Philippe and his wife, Catherine, a lawyer from Beaune, acquired the property, built a new, state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery, and started a massive rejuvenation of their portion of the 32-acre 1er Cru vineyard, Clos du Cellier aux Moines. With their 12-acres, the Domaine du Cellier aux Moines is the largest owner of this vineyard, considered by many to be the best in Givry. Philippe brought on Guillaume Marko, who had worked at the celebrated Domaine de la Romanée Conti (among other Côte de Nuits properties) and was an expert on biodynamic viticulture, as winemaker.
Philippe explains that when they acquired the property, the Pinot Noir vines were the typical Burgundy clones planted in the 1970s whose chief attribute was their high yield with big bunches of big berries. So, they knew they had to replant. Before embarking on an extensive and expensive replanting project, they performed a meticulously detailed soil analysis that allowed them to divide the vineyard into parcels, which would allow them to tailor the viticulture, most importantly perhaps, the timing of harvest, to each plot, a technique the French call sélection parcellaire. Then, starting in 2008, they replanted, plot by plot, with a massale selection of vines from the Côte de Nuits.
A massale selection is a traditional viticultural practice that propagates a variety of vines from the vineyard instead of using a “Mother” vine or clone, as was commonly done in the 1970s. This practice ensures genetic diversity and allows for selection of vines exhibiting favorable traits. So, now, after more than 15 years, they have finally replanted the entire vineyard. However, when I visited the property in 2021, there were still some parcels of 50-year-old vines that had yet to be replanted. Since their selection parcellaire was in place and wines from each parcel were vinified and aged separately, I had the unique opportunity to taste wines made from old vines and compare them, side-by side, with wines made from young vines.
The tasting was illuminating. The Pinot Noir from the plot with old vines was far less refined with coarser tannins. It had a rustic character. Philippe remarked that the major problem with the old vines was that phenolic maturity (maturity of the tannins) occurred too late, after the sugar levels were appropriate. So, picking when the grapes were ripe as measured by sugar levels meant that the tannins were rough. In contrast, the wine from the plots with younger massale-selected vines was sleek and refined with mineral-y notes. The textured difference was like night and day. What was equally striking was the gradual progression of refinement with increasing age of the younger, newly replanted, vines. The wine from the parcel that was planted 12 years earlier was just a touch more refined and complex than the wine from the parcel replanted two years earlier, reinforcing conventional wisdom that vine age does contribute to quality.
The influence of the young vines was also readily apparent in a 2021 tasting of a dozen vintages of Domaine du Cellier aux Moines 1er Cru, Clos du Cellier, aux Moines, spanning from the 2006, their first, to the 2019. The nearly mature and wonderfully balanced 2012, from a difficult vintage, had clearly benefited from the third of the blend which came from young vines. The plush texture—more cashmere compared to lambswool—became increasing apparent with successive vintages, undoubtedly due to the increasing proportion of wine from young vines.
A vertical tasting spanning the 2019 to 2023 vintages that Philippe and Guillaume hosted recently in New York completed my experience with their wines, which are redefining and raising the profile of the Givry appellation. In addition to their primary bottling from the Clos due Cellier aux Moines, we tasted wines from Clos du Cellier aux Moines Les Dessus, which comes an upper parcel of the vineyard. From tastings over the years, Philippe and Guillaume had noted that wines from this parcel were clearly different. Their detailed soil analysis revealed that there was more and a harder limestone in the soil compared to the remainder of the Clos du Cellier aux Moines. Their tastings, confirmed by the soil analysis, led them to bottle some of it separately because of its unique character. Guillaume bottles only 25 to 30 percent of the production of the upper parcel as Les Dessus. The balance goes into the Clos du Cellier aux Moines to preserve the integrity of it, their grand vin. In addition, to maintain the quality of the Clos du Cellier aux Moines, they declassify wine that doesn’t meet their standards, much of which comes from the old vines, from Givry 1er Cru to “Village” Givry, and bottle it as their second wine, Givry, Le Petit Cellier.
The charming and elegant 2019, which Guillaume described as “an easy” vintage, showed bright, red cherry-like fruit mixed with savory elements, all atop a stoney base. Despite a small amount, roughly 10 percent, of old vines, it was remarkably suave. (93 points; drink now—2030)
The denser and more youthful 2020 reflected the warmer growing season. Uplifting acidity kept the black fruit element and lush minerality in balance (92; drink 2028—2038)
The cooler 2021 vintage—the harvest was a month later than it was in 2020—produced a racy wine with a focus on the savory elements rather than a fruit-driven one. The fine tannins make it a delight to drink now. (92; drink now—2030)
The Domaine du Cellier of Moines’ magnificent 2022 Clos du Cellier aux Moines, the first to be made entirely from young wines, displays the red cherry notes often associated with the red wines of Givry, but they do not dominate. Rather, a complex array of minerals, a dollop of black fruit, and the all-to-elusive, “not just fruit” character dance on the palate. Each sip reveals more nuances. Depth of flavor and a velvety texture—absence of old vines—add another dimension. (95; drink now—2035, $73)
The youthful yet refined 2023 Clos du Cellier aux Moines, from what Guillaume describes “a generous vintage, maybe too generous,” marries fresh, red cherry-like elements with stoney minerals. Like the 2022, the texture is dazzlingly suave. Although some 2023s clearly reflect the dilution of a “generous” vintage, this one does not. (94, drink 2027—2037, $80)
As stunning as the wines from the Clos du Cellier aux Moines were—and they were—the wines from Les Dessus proved even better, denser, with more minerality and less overt fruitiness. The leap in quality was undoubtedly because of the unique terroir and absence of old vines in Les Dessus since its replanting Dessus had been completed in 2012. The comparison of Les Dessus with Clos du Cellier aux Moines brilliantly puts the importance of sélection parcellaire in clear relief.
The 2019 Les Dessus was far denser than the Clos du Cellier aux Moines, with more black than red fruit notes and a greater sense of minerality, all while maintaining a suave texture. A real step up! (95; drink now—2035)
The more youthful and denser 2020 Les Dessus reflected the heat of the vintage, with greater concentration and more apparent tannins. Its bracing acidity, which Guillaume believes comes from the heftier amount of limestone, provided balance. (94; drink 2028–2038)
The racy and sleek 2021 Les Dessus, the product of a cool vintage, married a dark fruitiness with a mineral underpinning. More elegant at this stage than the 2020, it was amazingly approachable and a delight to drink. The wildly different character of the 2021 and 2020, reflecting the differences of the vintage, shows the talents of the winemaking team—they can handle whatever Mother Nature throws at them. (95; drink now—2035)
The stature of the youthful 2022 Les Dessus is so immense you would be forgiven for not identifying it as a wine from Givry. More structured, befitting a youthful great wine, the tannins were nonetheless fine and not intrusive. Black, minerally, suave, and long, it’s a “wow” kind of wine. (97; drink 2029-3039, $125)
The stunning and youthful 2023 Les Dessus seamlessly combines an explosive array of dark fruit notes, minerals, and elusive savory elements. Firm, polished tannins provide structure without astringency and impart an alluring texture. As expected from a great youthful wine, additional delights emerge from the glass with time. In the end, you keep asking yourself, “Is this really Givry?” Yes, it is, though no one—until now—has focused on the appellation’s qualities in quite the same way. (96; drink 2030—2040, $170)
So, do old vines equal better wines? Philippe remarks, “The beauty of old vines is something, but you better have the right vines!” They do now, which helps explain how and why Philippe Pascal and Guillaume Marko are doing something spectacular, no less than transforming the reputation of the entire Givry appellation.
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Photo Credit: Michael Apstein, of the Les Dessus Vineyard Parcel
E-mail me your thoughts about vine age, Givry, or Burgundy in general at Michael.Apstein1@gmail.com and follow me on Instagram @MichaelApstein
June 4, 2025