Romain Taupenot is the ninth generation to run this family domaine in Morey-Saint-Denis. With 9 hectares in the Côte de Nuits and another 4.5 hectares in the Côte de Beaune, Romain and his sister Virginie now produce nineteen different wines across seventeen appellations. A significant portion of their holdings are in premier cru and grand cru appellations, and all of their premiers crus are enviably placed. Old vines represent a significant proportion of the domaine’s holdings, with new plantings created from sélection massale cuttings of their best vines. 

Having farmed organically since 2001, the Taupenots seek to respect the character of each climat to yield wines of purity and grace that are faithful to their appellation of origin. Romain jokingly refers to himself as a “lazy winemaker,” prioritizing work in the vineyard in order to minimize the need for intervention in the cellar. Their hand-harvested grapes are de-stemmed and undergo a cold soak before fermentation with wild yeast. Cellar operations are gentle and performed with the goal of expressing the nuances of each site. Accordingly, commercial yeasts, bacteria, enzymes and other additives are out of the question, and new oak is used judiciously. With few exceptions, the wines are bottled unfiltered, while sulfur doses are kept to a minimum. Romain considers the house style to be one of richness with freshness, relying on the innate quality of the sites they farm to deliver wines that are balanced and complete, with elegant tannins.