Domaine Dugat-Py

The Dugat name has been in Gevrey-Chambertin for centuries. But the story of Domaine Dugat-Py begins in 1994, when Bernard Dugat and Jocelyne Py put their names together and made a domaine of their own. Small plots, old vines, some more than a hundred years old, became the backbone.

Bernard’s style was never about volume. Low yields, thick-skinned berries, wines that could take decades to show themselves. Some called them monumental. Others too powerful. What’s certain is that he didn’t compromise. His son Loïc Dugat works beside him now, bringing energy but keeping the same conviction. Ten hectares, worked by hand. No frills. Just Pinot Noir and patience.

At the top is Domaine Dugat-Py Chambertin Grand Cru. Pinot Noir here doesn’t whisper. It’s dark, structured, smoky, full of spice. Young bottles can feel closed, almost forbidding. With time (twenty years, sometimes more) they expand into layers of fruit, earth, game, and length that won’t quit. Wines built for cellars, not for weekends.

Even the so-called “entry wines” like Gevrey village and Premier Cru bottlings, come from old vines, some over 50 years of age. They don’t taste simple. Dark cherry and plum are there, but wrapped in structure, touched by earth and spice. A few years in bottle softens the edges. Pair them with game or mushroom-rich dishes and you’ll see how serious even the ‘smaller’ Dugat-Py wines can be.

This is what defines Domaine Bernard Dugat-Py. Old vines, tiny yields, wines that stand apart in Burgundy. Not polished, not easy — but authentic. At The Reserve Cellar, we respect that edge. We don’t treat Dugat-Py as another French wine on a shelf. We bring it in as part of a curated Burgundy collection, chosen for people who understand that some bottles aren’t about now. They’re about history, soil, and a family’s choice to make Pinot Noir their way.