Arnaud Mortet

History of Domaine Arnaud Mortet

The Mortet family’s story in Gevrey-Chambertin began in 1956, when grandfather Charles bought his first hectare of vines. In 1991, he divided his land between his two sons. Denis Mortet then founded his own estate with around 4.5 hectares in Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny and Vougeot. A friend and disciple of Henri Jayer, he became one of the leading figures of Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir. Arnaud joined him in 2000, then took over the family estate in the mid-2000s after his father’s sudden death, supported by his mother Laurence and his sister Clémence.

In 2016, a retiring Gevrey-Chambertin winegrower offered Arnaud and Clémence the opportunity to farm his entire estate, around four hectares. The vines are tended and the wines made by the same team, in the same winery, as Domaine Denis Mortet. Regulations alone require these wines to be labeled “Arnaud Mortet.” This new estate allows the winemaker to explore a broader range of Gevrey-Chambertin’s great terroirs, and international critics regularly praise the quality of its wines.

Terroirs and Vines of Domaine Arnaud Mortet

The Domaine Arnaud Mortet vineyard lies entirely within Gevrey-Chambertin, one of the Côte de Nuits’ most prestigious villages. It consists mainly of village-appellation vines averaging around fifty years of age, as well as old vines in the La Perrière and Lavaux Saint-Jacques premiers crus and the Charmes-Chambertin and Mazoyères-Chambertin grands crus. Some plots have vines more than a century old. The clay-limestone soils, sometimes very stony with exposed bedrock, give the grapes great aromatic expression.

The winemaker follows organic farming principles, deliberately limiting yields and paying close attention to biodiversity. He says the plant material from these old vines produces fairly large but well-spaced clusters. The healthy, balanced grapes ripen fully, an essential condition for making great Burgundy wines.

Winemaking at Domaine Arnaud Mortet

The grapes are harvested by hand and vinified in the family winery. Since 2018, it has had a new cellar and concrete fermentation tanks. Fermentations use native yeasts. Depending on the wine, Arnaud Mortet either destems all the grapes or retains a proportion of whole clusters. He often cuts the stems into sections, bringing freshness, fragrance and silky texture to the wine.

Aging in oak barrels lasts around sixteen to seventeen months. The proportion of new oak is tailored to the terroir: around one-third for village wines and more for the grands crus. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration. They stand out for their pure fruit, fine tannins and remarkable aging potential.

The Wines of Domaine Arnaud Mortet

Gevrey-Chambertin Ma Cuvée: this wine blends grapes from seven named sites in the south of the appellation: Les Épointures, La Justice, Champs-Chenys, Les Champerriers, En Jouise, Clos de l’Arche and Les Platières. Its vines are over forty years old; the grapes are destemmed, and the wine is then aged for sixteen months in barrels, one-third of them new. It offers vivid cherry and raspberry fruit accented by floral notes, in a smooth, immediately charming style.

Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée de Très Vieilles Vignes: this village wine comes from three plots planted with vines aged 80 to more than 100 years: En Champs, Aux Échézeaux and Combe Dessus. Vinified with a large proportion of whole clusters, it develops a bouquet of faded rose and bright red fruit. The texture is velvety, and the finish is delicately spiced.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru: a more recent addition to the range, this wine blends several premier cru plots. It offers a structured, harmonious Gevrey that hints at the depth of the range’s climats.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru La Perrière: this stony premier cru has a strong personality. Aromas of cherry, strawberry and plum accompany a rich, energetic palate with very fine tannins.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux Saint-Jacques: from one of the finest premiers crus in northern Gevrey, this wine combines freshness, elegance and depth. Its mineral backbone and precise fruit make it one of the estate’s most appreciated wines.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru: this grand cru comes from a plot of old vines. It charms with its sensuality, velvety texture and rich dark fruit, with the potential for long aging.

Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru: its vines, over 55 years old, grow in very shallow, stony soil. It is vinified with some whole clusters and aged for seventeen months in predominantly new barrels. A fragrant nose of red fruit, blackberry and violet leads to a taut palate with a satiny texture.

Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru: the pinnacle of the range and one of Burgundy’s most illustrious appellations. This rarely produced wine combines power, distinction and refinement and is built for very long aging.