Domaine Derain

Domaine Derain is one of the most quietly important names in natural Burgundy. Based in the village of Saint-Aubin, in the Côte de Beaune, the estate was built by Dominique Derain, a true pioneer. Back in 1988 he bought a few hectares of vines around Saint-Aubin & set about farming them with no synthetic sprays or fertilisers, becoming one of the very first growers in Burgundy to reject chemicals entirely and to work with the lunar calendar. At a time when the region was drowning in additives and heavy oak, that was close to heretical.

For decades Dominique made pure, terroir-driven wines that earned a cult following and inspired a whole generation of low-intervention growers. When it came time to step back, he did not sell to a big company. He handed the domaine to the people he trusted most. 

Today the estate is run by Julien Altaber and his partner Carole Schwab. Julien had been Dominique's cellar hand and right arm for the best part of a decade, so the handover kept the philosophy completely intact. Dominique has not vanished either. In semi-retirement, he still turns up to taste in the cellar and even waxes the bottle tops by hand.

The one visible change is on the label. Where the bottles once read Dominique Derain, the newer releases simply say Domaine Derain, marking the shift to Julien and Carole while honouring the name that built it.  Alongside the family estate, Julien and Carole run a second venture called Sextant, a négociant project.