Domaine Camille Thiriet
Corgoloin, Côte de Nuits, France
Camille Thiriet
We were immediately charmed by Camille Thiriet’s drive to produce artisanal Burgundies, full of personality, from a tiny garage behind her parent’s bed and breakfast in the Côte de Nuits village of Comblanchien. From their first vintage in 2016 with 2000 bottles, Camille and her partner, Matt Chittick, assumed roles as modern garagistes, crafting small lot cuvées by hand (and foot) with just enough wine to fill a few old barrels from a network of trusted growers and spending late nights bottling, labeling or waxing by hand this is a true labor of love.
When an opportunity to purchase a 4.5 ha domaine in Corgoloin in 2022 appeared, Camille and Matt jumped all in and have now become a full-fledged domaine focused on championing the Cote de Nuits Villages appellation. With this latest acquisition, they are farming a total of six hectares and bottling individual parcels to best showcase their nuanced terroirs.
Camille is quick to point out that she did not come from a winemaking family and credits a strong community of winemakers, including Didier Fornerol and Bernard Noblet as instrumental to her sucess. She works by intuition rather than from experience and makes decisions based on feeling rather than reading numbers - with a singular goal create perfect alchemy between terroir, farming and winemaking. This is a startup story for the ages, nestled in the middle of the Côte d’Or - a region steeped in tradition and transmission - and these two are just getting started.
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Domaine Camille Thiriet started as micro-négoce in 2016, created by Canadian-born winemaker Matt Chittick and Burgundian wine industry professional Camille Thiriet, which they made without electricity in their 20-square-meter garage behind Chateau de Comblanchien in the Côte-d'Or.
After years of experience in both the production and sales side, they wanted to realize a long term dream of producing Burgundy under their own label. The two met while working for Nicolas Potel at the Domaine de Bellene. Matt was the winemaker from 2011 to 2014 and Camille was the head of sales.
Maison Roche de Bellene produces wine from over 75 different appellations so the experience gave Matt and Camille access to a great deal of reputable growers and producers across the Cote D’or. This insight and network of relationships allows them to source only the best fruit for their own label from great winemakers and growers who they know and admire.
In 2022, they purchased a small domaine of 4.5 hectares of vines in the village of Corgoloin, just up the hill from Comblanchien from Gilles Jourdan, a friend of fellow GCS grower Didier Fornerol who connected them. This brings their domaine to 6 hectares they are farming themselves.
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Camille’s holdings in Corgoloin showcase 3 different terroirs all on the same same slope with different soils and altitudes.
The hill-slopes of Comblanchien and Corgoloin are carved into the hard limestones of the Upper bathonien. The slopes are gentle - the upper part has brown soil with just a little limestone, while just underneath, one finds more rocky soils and at the foot of the slope is an extensive area of brown soils over accumulated clay-limestone soils.
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Upon taking over the vines in 2022, they immediately got to work converting from lutte raisonée to organic agriculture. They are working slowly and deliberately to bring life back to the soils using a combination of plowing by horse and by tractor.
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In the cellar, pump overs are done by gravity and the grapes are pressed using a small wooden basket press. The wines are fermented with natural yeasts and minimal sulfur additions.
All the whites are first fermented in stainless steel. She used to do it in barrel but was worried about sugar. Fermented is finished in barrel, Malo in barrel, 10 months and then racked again in stainless tank to freshen up before bottling.
Wines
Aligote du Jardin
From two areas one above Pommard with Aligote Doré, and one in Corgoloin, plus one barrel from 100 year old vines from Meursault. Some skin contact (10%) Aged in used barrels and bottled after 1 year.
Bourgogne Chardonnay Cuvée Confidentielle
Sourced from declassified plots in Puligny and Macon village; farmed organically. The Macon bring the beautiful fruity abricot notes and the Puligny side brings salinity and citrus notes
Bourgogne Rouge En la Place
First vintage of this domaine wine is 2022. 90 years old vines located between Comblanchien and Corgoloin, more fruity and perfumed. Small berries very aromatic and fresh. 40% whole cluster.
Bourgogne Rouge Les Chagniots
First vintage of this domaine wine is 2022 - From 60 years old vines located under the Clos des Langres in the south. Got all the typical note of a CDN Village, more dense, dark fruit. 40% whole cluster.
Côte de Nuits-Villages Aux Montagnes
Just in front of her parents' house in Comblanchien this plot is also just above Jean Marc Millot's Aux Fauques. Vines 50 years old. Organic but not certified. Quite a bit of deep clay and limestone. 20 cm of soil over the rock. Camille has made this cuvée since her first year. In 2022 10-15% whole bunch. Bottled unfiltered.
Côte de Nuits-Villages Les Retraits
In Comblachien, south of Mugnier’s Clos de la Marechale Lutte Raisonée, 100% Whole Cluster. Unfined & Unfiltered Fermentation is 9-16 days. Wooden basket press
Cote de Nuits-Villages La Montagne
One of the new domaine vineyards, not to be confused with Aux Montagnes in Comblanchien. La Montagne is on the southern side of Corgoloin quite high on the slope - 280 m in altitude. The soil is sand over clay. 50% whole cluster fermentation.
Cote de Nuits Village Clos Magny
Located just above La Montagne on the same slope at 350m altitude. Camille first made this cuvée in 2021. Soil is rockier with a shallower top soil. 100% whole cluster. Delicacy with intensity.
Rosay Gamay
90 years old Gamay from Corgoloin; direct press no skin contact. Half in barrel half in tank to keep the freshness.