Burgundy is not known for sudden rises. Reputations are built slowly, often over generations, and even the most brilliant young domaines are usually told to be patient. Which makes Domaine Clos de la Chapelle such a compelling outlier.
Based around the historic Volnay 1er Cru monopole Clos de la Chapelle, this is not a new vineyard story, but a revival. The site has a long and serious pedigree. Even Louis Pasteur was a devotee in the 19th century, regularly ordering cases for his own cellar. What is new is the precision, confidence and consistency with which the domaine now expresses that terroir.
Resurrected in 2011 by lifelong Burgundy lover Mark O’Connell, alongside Pierre Meurgey, Clos de la Chapelle is headquartered at the Château de Bligny, where Pierre also works side by side with Dominique Lafon. That proximity is not incidental. The winemaking here is defined by restraint, clarity and an unflinching commitment to detail. Nothing is forced, nothing padded. The wines are allowed to be themselves.
The domaine’s footprint is deliberately small: just 1.5 hectares spread across Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses and Beaune, with total annual production around 1,500 cases. Farming is organic, with biodynamic principles guiding work in both vineyard and cellar. Each cuvée is made in tiny quantities and treated as its own statement rather than part of a formulaic range.
What has surprised many is just how quickly the results have announced themselves. Recent vintages have drawn glowing praise from Allen Meadows (Burghound), Neal Martin and Jasper Morris, with the 2022s and 2023s in particular confirming that this is not early promise, but fully formed quality. Meadows noted after tasting the range that he was “again impressed by the quality of the wines,” adding that the domaine is “well worth your interest”, high praise from a critic not known for hyperbole.
In tastings, the wines sit comfortably alongside far more established names, often outperforming them, especially in terms of balance, finesse and site transparency. The reds are archetypal modern Volnay: elegant, mineral, structured without heaviness, and expressive rather than demonstrative. The flagship Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Chapelle has the quiet authority of a great monopole, while the Pommards combine depth with lift in a way that feels both classical and assured.
The whites are equally compelling. The Corton-Charlemagne and Meursault Charmes show precision and tension alongside real depth, wines built for long lives rather than immediate applause. Across the range, there is a sense of calm confidence: wines that know exactly where they come from and don’t feel the need to shout about it.
Clos de la Chapelle is already being spoken about as one of the leading estates in Volnay, and that feels less like hype than an inevitability. The foundations are historic, the intent is serious, and the execution is exceptional. Burgundy rarely moves quickly, but when it does, it pays to pay attention.
For us, discovering these wines early has been one of the great pleasures, and we are thrilled to work exclusively with the domaine. For collectors and Club Members, they represent something even rarer: the chance to buy at the beginning of a story that already looks destined for the front rank.