There are two types of winemakers in Burgundy.
First, and better known, are the landowning, grape-growing estates (Domaines) that you probably imagine when you think of French wine country. But there’s also the wine merchants known as négociants, and while the traditional role of the estate is generally well understood (they grow grapes and make wine), négociants are usually a mystery to the casual wine drinker - despite producing more than half of Burgundy’s wine.
In this article; we’ll sketch out the main differences between the two types of producers, what to expect from their wine, and why this distinction is becoming less and less clear-cut over time.
Domaines vs. Négociants
At a high level, there are two basic roles needed to produce wine. The first is growing the grapes, which is the job of the grower, or vineyard master and the second is making the wine; done by the winemaker, or vigneron. Quite simply, Domaines undertake both roles, while Négociants only take on the latter.
Domaines range from small, family-owned operations producing a few hundred bottles a year to internationally acclaimed (and wildly expensive) producers like Domaine de la Romanée Conti and Domaine Leflaive, and unlike the vast chateaux of Bordeaux, even the most prestigious of Burgundy's estates produce only a few thousand cases per year.
Due to Napoleon’s equal inheritance laws, which have slowly partitioned Burgundy's family-run vineyards over the last couple hundred years, Burgundy’s vineyards are for the most part incredibly subdivided, which puts a cap on how much wine landowners can produce. Though there have been some small trends towards consolidation, vineyard plots are still generally quite small, with many as small as a single row of vines.
This is where the négociant comes in. Historically, their role was to purchase grapes, pressed juice, or unfinished wine from vineyards too small to sustain large-scale production, and then make or blend, bottle, market, and sell the wine themselves. Untethered by the limited size of a single vineyard, négociants can produce wine in much greater quantity than the domaines - ten times more on average.
Ever the sticklers, French labelling laws require that wines made from purchased grapes are sold under the label of Maison, the French term for house, or family. Domaine is reserved exclusively for wines that were grown and bottled by the same entity. While the general practice has been taken up in many wine regions around the world - including California - France is the only country to require the distinction on the label.
Domaine or Maison, which makes the better wine?
In Burgundy, domaine wines are often considered the superior of the two. They have the advantage of complete control over the growing process, and are seen as being in it for family tradition and love of the wine, rather than the money.
This hierarchy is grounded as much in historical bias as in fact. In the past, négociants didn't always uphold the quality of Burgundy wine. They were seen as taking advantage of Burgundy's brand power, and making money off the hard work of farmers without adding any value of their own.
While that may be true historically, it’s no longer the case today. Strict labelling laws, selective buyers, and easily accessible wine ratings meant that négociants who made poor wine either got their act together or went out of business.
Today, Burgundy is replete with négociants (and even micro-negociants) who make wine just as good as any domaines have to offer. Without any vines to worry about, they can focus all their expertise on winemaking, expertly blending grapes from different vineyards and catering to their stylistic preference. Many négociants view themselves as winemakers first, and merchants second.
The Changing Landscape
Over the years, the fine line between domaines and négociants has become a little blurry.
Most often what pushes people into the merchant industry is the prohibitive cost of vineyards. Often, once négociants have built up a bit of capital, they'll purchase their own land in order to open up a domaine. Those who continue to run both operations in tandem are called négociants-éleveurs, or merchant growers. A very large share of small domaines also buy grapes in order to make other wines in their still tiny portfolio, simply selling the wine under the label of maison. Remember, it's only domaine wine if they grow the grapes themselves!
As a hard and fast rule, you can generally expect domaine wines to be more reflective of terroir, and maison wines more reflective of the winemaker’s preference and style. But as the lines between the two have blurred, so have the differences in their wine. There’s almost always a small stylistic tilt to domaine wines, and many modern négociants, passionate about terroir as any Burgundian, work closely with growers to ensure the grapes are grown and harvested to their satisfaction.
For all the differences in their operations, Burgundy winemakers are united in their aim of making the best wine they can, and we think that’s worth raising a glass to.