Cruchandeau Julien

DOMAINE CRUCHANDEAU

The estate, created in 2003 by Julien Cruchandeau, now groups together 7 different wine appellations from Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise:

-Nuits-Saint-Georges “Aux Saints Jacques”

-Savigny-lès-Beaune “Les Petits Picotins”

-Hautes Côtes de Nuits “Les Valençons” – Pinot Noir

-Bouzeron “Vieilles Vignes”

-Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé

-Crémant de Bourgogne White

-Bourgogne Rosé

THE WINEGROWER: JULIEN CRUCHANDEAU

Born in Chenôve in 1977 and having spent his childhood in Sombernon, Julien Cruchandeau was not born into a family of winegrowers from the Côte.

For a long time, he wanted to be a cook and work with the products, flavours and different combinations of taste. In 1997, he received a French high school diploma in hotel studies in Dijon, and then had a series of different jobs in France and England. He was a waiter in a high-end brasserie in London where he learned about different cuisines and wines from around the world.

In 2000, back in Bourgogne, he decided to take a training course in oenology-viticulture in Beaune (CFPPA) (Professional Training and Promotion of Agricultural Farming Centre) for two years during which he also worked at the Domaine Seguin de Gevrey-Chambertin. In 2001, he was offered a position as steward and cellar master at Domaine Lécheneault in Bouzeron, first Côte Châlonnaise village. From winegrowing to winemaking and marketing, he follows the entire process for 4 vintages of Bouzeron (white) and Côte Chalonnaise (white and red).

In 2002, at the age of 24, he was mentioned in the Hachette Guide and won a silver medal at the Côte Chalonnaise Wine Competition. In 2005, he was awarded one star in the famous Michelin Guide, which earned him great respect from other professionals around him.

In 2003, he created his own estate: Domaine Cruchandeau. He bought his first vines in Bouzeron as well as his first winemaking equipment (wine press, vats, pumps, etc.). With the strong desire to grow and develop, he bought a house in Chaux, located in the Hautes Côtes de Nuits, with a large cellar and beautiful vat room in 2007. Finally, between 2009 and 2010, he brought together different investors and founded a Groupement foncier agricole (GFA) (“Agricultural Land Group”) called “Aux Saints Jacques” to expand his farming from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Savigny-les-Beaune.

THE STEP TOWARDS ORGANIC FARMING

Since 2011, the vines have been cultivated using organic treatments, no chemical fertilisers, healthy and high quality grapes, and moderate yields in order to respect the soil and terroirs.

The grapes are harvested by hand. They are turned into wine and aged in barrels and vats. Wine is made in the most natural way possible, using traditional methods and a few modern winemaking techniques, such as temperature control.

The ageing process takes 8 to 18 months, depending on the cuvées, in vats or barrels. White wines are stirred. Finally, the wine is bottled after being lightly filtered, except for the Nuits-Saint-Georges wines, which are left unfiltered.

ELECTRONIC MUSIC, ANOTHER PASSION

In addition to being an artist of the vines, Julien Cruchandeau is also an electric music artist. He learned to play the drums and piano at a very young age and had an incredible experience with the group Shrink Orchestra. Between 2004 and 2010, he held a series of nearly 200 concerts throughout the region and around the world (Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes, Strasbourg, Lyon, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, etc.) and participated in the the French Eurockéenennes de Belfort 2006 rock music festival. He also created a record label called Guls Records. In 2010, he decided to end his musical career in order to focus entirely on viticulture.