With origins dating back to 1692, Domaine François Buffet is currently managed by the charismatic Marc-Olivier, the eight-generation Buffet in charge of the domaine’s destiny since 2005. Through the centuries, generation after generation was able to amass an enviable holding of exceptional, regional, village, and premier cru sites, scattered along the Cote de Beaune.
Marc-Olivier is a very meticulous vigneron, he has an admirable sensitivity towards nature and its cycles and a profound knowledge of the terroirs of the Cote d’Or. His philosophy is to limit human interference to the minimum and to listen and understand the natural processes to express with clarity the individual terroirs. His attentive yet minimalistic approach in the vineyard, coupled with staunchly traditional winemaking and judicious use of new barrels (around 20%), produces soulful, transparent, light-footed Pinot Noirs, characterized by elegance and refinement.
The domaine produces wines in 15 appellations across the Cote de Beaune. The largest vineyard holding area is in Volnay, where Marc-Olivier works some of the most revered parcels, including the Premier Crus Champans, Clos des Chenes, Taillepieds, Le Village, Carelle Sous la Chapelle, as well as the 0.52 hectare Monopole Clos de la Rougeotte. In the neighboring village of Pommard, the domaine’s bottlings come from the Premier Crus of Rugiens, Clos Micot, and Poutures.
Further north, Marc-Olivier holds highly esteemed vineyard land in the Premier Crus of Les Narbantons, within the commune of Savigny-Les-Beaune, and Les Vergelesses, in the village of Pernand-Vergelesses. All of Marc-Olivier’s wines evolve in the domine’s 18th-century cellar, protected under 10 feet of clay and limestone under the tiny hamlet of Volnay.
