Domaine Alex Moreau

Since my first visit to the domaine in 2009, then trading as Domaine Bernard Moreau, Alex Moreau has remained my favourite producer of white Burgundy. That is not simply because of the extraordinary quality of the wines, but because, year after year, they represent remarkable value against many of their more celebrated neighbours. The family home sits on the outskirts of Chassagne-Montrachet, overlooking the Premier Cru of Morgeot. Attached is an unassuming garage which, with typical Burgundian understatement, conceals a cellar of small stainless steel tanks where some of the Côte de Beaune's most compelling white wines quietly ferment before spending a long élevage developing their trademark precision and texture.

One of my more unusual claims to fame in the wine trade came over dinner at one of my favourite Beaune restaurants, Caves Madeleine. I found myself sharing a bottle of 2008 Bernard Moreau Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes with Neal Martin, who admitted he had never tasted the domaine before. I encouraged him to pay Alex a visit. He clearly took the advice, and over the years has become one of the domaine's most enthusiastic admirers.

The estate itself was founded by Bernard Moreau in the early 1960s. Alex gradually assumed responsibility for the winemaking, during which time the domaine established itself amongst the elite producers of Chassagne-Montrachet. In 2020 the family's vineyards were amicably divided, with Alex and his brother Benoît each following their own path. The 2021 vintage was the first to appear under the Domaine Alex Moreau label, but the philosophy in both vineyard and cellar remains unmistakably his own.

That philosophy is refreshingly straightforward: meticulous vineyard work, minimal intervention in the cellar and extended élevage, allowing each vineyard to express its individual character. Nowhere is this more apparent than when tasting the Premier Crus side by side, where subtle differences in soil, aspect and elevation produce strikingly different wines.

For me, the hallmark of Alex Moreau's style is the effortless balance between concentration and freshness. The wines possess remarkable depth and intensity, yet are always underpinned by vibrant acidity and exceptional precision. They are wonderfully rewarding in youth, yet have the structure to age gracefully for decades. Quite simply, I cannot recommend them highly enough.