Domaine La Côtelette
Domaine La Côtelette was founded in 2018 by Benoît Kilian, a jazz drummer and former professional footballer, after he fell in love with natural wine.
The Domaine is in Trugny 20 km east of Beaune bordering the Saône river. The area is part of Burgundy, but there are virtually no vineyards left to this day other than Benoît’s 2.5 hectares. The oldest vines date back to 1919 and are surrounded by forest. Benoît took over the vineyards in 2018 from Guy Bussière, who had cultivated them without the use of chemistry for decades. Guy had wanted to sell for several years, and the vineyards desperately needed a loving hand, but Benoît threw himself into the project with all his energy and with expert guidance from like-minded winegrowers and close friends like Marc Soyard and Romuald Valot.
The recipe has been clear from the beginning: the vineyards are grown according to biodynamic principles and absolutely nothing is added in the cellar, which Benoît has built from scratch from biodegradable materials. The extraction on the reds is gentle, closer to an infusion, and only old casks are used.
We visited Benoît for the first time in the summer of 2021 and were completely blown away by his wines, which truly vibrate with energy and almost jump out of the glass. It is unpretentious and straightforward, yet deeply serious and vigorous. Benoît is the modest type, who lets the wines speak for themselves. He is hardworking and firm in the belief in his project, but first and foremost he is curious and incredibly pleasant to be around. All in all, this is the recipe for a winegrower with a bright future ahead of him, which we are very much looking forward to following in the coming years.
