2023 Ladoix Les Joyeuses 1er Cru

A new chapter is opening for Michel Mallard. He departed as head winemaker at Domaine d’Eugénie to run his namesake Domaine as his father takes retirement. It’s a wonder that Mallard has managed to run both at the same time, and he admits that on some days it could be complicated. On top of all that, he has built a house and organized the Saint Vincent festival. “I started picking on September 1, thinking I might be too early,” Mallard tells me. “But in hindsight, it was the right time. It’s not the time you start; it’s the time you finish. On September 12 there was 45 mm of rain—that was the day we finished (with the Corton-Charlemagne). I used around 50% whole cluster on my red Premier Crus and 40% new oak.”