Aligoté with real presence. Bright citrus and green apple energy, carried by a firm limestone spine and a gently textured finish. It’s taut and refreshing, but not thin — a serious expression of a grape that rewards care in the vineyard.

La Chaume des Lies

La Chaume des Lies is the project of Lothar Galloo and Margaux Rivaux, two growers whose paths crossed in 2018 while working with Pierre Fenals at Maison En Belles Lies. What began as a shared apprenticeship slowly became something more intentional: a desire to build a domaine of their own, rooted in Burgundy but shaped by a broader set of experiences and values.

They settled in the village of Baubigny, just south of Saint-Romain, where they found an old underground cellar large enough—and humble enough—to let the work speak louder than the setting. From there, they began assembling vineyards piece by piece, renting parcels across Saint-Aubin, Auxey-Duresses, Bouzeron, the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, and a small foothold in Beaujolais. The scale is modest, but the scope is wide, giving them a rare cross-section of soils, exposures, and expressions.

Both Margaux and Lothar arrived with deep practical grounding. Margaux had been working closely with Pierre Fenals since 2016, immersed in biodynamic farming and attentive vineyard work. Lothar brings a different but complementary path: experience with growers like Bruno Schueller in Alsace and Didier Barral in the Languedoc, along with a childhood spent in an organic vegetable-farming family. Together, they farm without herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic inputs, guided by observation, timing, and the rhythms of the lunar calendar rather than rigid dogma.

In the cellar, their approach stays equally restrained. Fermentations are allowed to unfold naturally, élevage is gentle and patient, and each parcel is treated on its own terms. The goal isn’t to imprint a style, but to preserve balance and clarity from vineyard to bottle. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, with only a small addition of sulfur at bottling when needed.

For a young domaine, the wines already carry a sense of poise. There’s energy and lift, but also calm and control—much like the partnership behind them. La Chaume de Lies feels less like a debut and more like the steady beginning of something built to last.