Lacho believes that the high prices that Burgundy producers charge for their wines may carry a risk of self-sufficiency. When the wine you make is the rarest and most sought-after wine in the world, the risk is high. He said that if he has taken wines to the next level today, it is thanks to the health of the vineyards and the organization of the winery when he began operations in 2012. This reflects the fact that the wines have been produced by Pascal Lacho for almost 20 years. and that he and his wife Florence Arnoux (daughter of Robert Arnoux) have run Domaine since 1995. Charles Lachaux is only 29 years old, but he is in charge of the management of the Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux family (formerly known as Robert Arnoux) with 14 hectares of vineyards located in some of the best areas in Burgundy. On Thursday, I met him at his importer’s office, Corney & Barrow, to taste 2016 and then have a nice lunch after we drank some old wines.
In the vineyard, he adopted the technique of Lalou Bize Leroy, allowing the vines to grow a little and not mechanically placing them in the hedge. He also did scraping, cutting off dead wood from affected vines with a small chainsaw. Charles also introduced full cluster fermentation to the estate and also used less fresh oak and less extraction.
In October 2011, after studying at a wine school and various trips abroad, Charles Lachaud joined his father in the Online wine auctions domain. Charles Lacho, just 30 years old and the sixth generation of winemakers on this historic estate, has transformed the domain at an astonishing rate and is now creating a Pinot Noir style that is as modern as it is firmly rooted in the old styles. without viticulture. At Bowler, we have always been impressed by the tastings at Arnoux Lacho, and wines have reached new heights since Charles joined his father.
Today Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux owns 14.5 hectares of vineyards among the best in Vosne-Roman and vineyards of no less high quality in Nuits-Saint-Georges. With participation in some of Burgundy’s largest vineyards – Romanee-St-Vivant, Clos-Vougeot, Echezeaux and Nuits-Saint-Georges, and Vosne-Romanee Premiers Crus – Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux wines are some of the finest expressions of these privileged terroirs. Pascal Lacho. The domain has the unique advantage that old vines are always present in all areas, which ensures a consistent style.
Since 1993, Leroy has not had an oenologist, such is the quality of the grapes – evidence of biodynamic farming and a different cultivation and pruning style, the methods that Charles uses at Arnoux-Lacho. Charles takes some of the unique approaches to the Lalou-Bize Leroy vineyard, such as not pruning the tops of his two favorite vineyards, Vosne Romanee Aux Reignots and Romanée Saint-Vivant.
Charles and his team of winemakers only prune the Aux Reignots and Romanee Saint-Vivant plots when the branch reaches 3 meters in height, which is the length at which the branch begins to weaken and even break. Their vines are lined with trees on two sides: in the west (above) and the north. To the south, there is a 4-5 meter high strip of shrubbery, cleared this year, and a vineyard road in front of the Clos de la Roche vineyards. The area of 0.53 hectares of Latricieres-Chambertin vineyards, owned by Arnou-Lacho, rises above the areas of the Domains Camus and Trapet – almost like a companion of the rest of the Latricere vineyards – like Clos.
One of the finest Les Suchots from the top of the vineyard is produced at Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux in Vosne-Romanee. This is a very special wine, and since it was taken over by Charles Lacho, its quality has improved significantly and now competes with the elite Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots wines. Les Suchots has always been a prestigious wine for the Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux estate, so let’s take a closer look at the historical textures and details. Burgundy Arnoux-Lacho (and Robert Arnoux, as the estate used to be called) has always had a reputation for producing very good, durable, and reliable fruit Pinot.
But this is certainly not the case in Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, where the transfer of the reins of winemaking from Pascal Lachaud to his eldest son Charles has paid off. If I had to point out what makes this domain special is Charles Lachaud and his unwavering focus on the vineyard. The domain was founded in 1858 and its bottling was introduced by Robert Arnoux, Charles’ grandfather, born in 1931 and after his father’s death in 1957.
Domaine Guy Castagnier used to make this wine, but it was Christopher Newman’s majors (from Beaune) who finally decided to sell the vines because he never thought this wine was particularly good. But this wine was sold to others in Vosne-Romagna (c) E. Only in the late 1950s-early 1960s, all products were bottled in this field. Our idea is to buy grapes from the CAte de Nuits production area that we do not have in this field, such as Bonnes Mares, Richebourg, Mazis-Chambertin, Chambertin Clos de BEze, and Chambolle-Musigny first-class gardens.
Since Charles Lachaud came to power, 15% of country wines come from new oak barrels, 20% of Premier Cru wines come from new oak barrels, and 30% of Grand Cru wines and Burgundy have no new oak barrels. Arnoux-Lacho owns a beautiful piece of land on the uphill slope of Clos Vougeot, located within the Quartier des Marei Haut, just a stone’s throw away from the Grands Echezeaux. Robert Parker also talked about these wines, “When Arnoux reaches its goal, his wine will be Burgundy’s most attractive and complex wine.” As if to clarify this point, Charles made a bottle of wine. The 1971 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les wine made by his grandfather ended his complete tasting of the new 2017 wines (lunch paired with bottles in the library). shots, it has a direct style connection with the wines produced by Charles on the family estate.
Although the quality of these wines is always good, the quality of these wines has increased dramatically in recent years. Ohhh, this is a fresh and open wine that grows in the complexity of flavor as well as volume that fills the mouth. The first wine to start with a slightly higher age difficulty: lots of freshness and interest.
A completely different nose – an open and more effective move – a good aromatic top note, but less stylish than the two previous wines. However, Charles rightly notes that this does not in any way affect the feeling of freshness of the finished wines. Domaines vineyards are where the magic happens, but as Charles says, “There is no recipe in the cellar.” Tall arbors and low yields have provided early grapes, which are warm and sunny late harvests such as 2017 usually mean the domain is harvesting earlier than most of its neighbors.