Yann Durieux

Fourth-generation vigneron from Nuits-Saint-Georges who made his first barrel of wine at thirteen. Spent ten years as vineyard manager at Prieuré-Roch under the late Henri-Frédéric Roch (of DRC fame), who mentored him. In 2010 Yann and his partner Christela took over family parcels in the hamlet of Messanges, in the commune of Villers-la-Faye (Hautes-Côtes de Nuits), and created Recrue des Sens - the initials are the manifesto: résister, désobéir, sans se soumettre. He has since expanded to something like ten to fifteen hectares across the Hautes-Côtes and Côte de Nuits.

Farming is organic and biodynamic. Rather than cutting foliage, all vines are braided into bridges to manage the canopy. He aims to eliminate copper entirely, using herbal remedies instead. In the cellar: hand-picked, whole-cluster pressed, spontaneous fermentation, no chaptalisation, no additives of any kind, no racking during élevage - lees nourish the wine and protect against oxidation. Many cuvées are bottled with no added sulphur under the S.A.I.N.S. designation; on others, a minimal dose at bottling when the vintage calls for it. Key cuvées include La Gouzotte (Pinot Noir), Love and Pif (Aligoté), Les Beurots (macerated Pinot Gris), and GMC (Gamay from centenarian vines). Polarising and cult.

A strange winemaker. Most of his wines I did not like - the cult status is real, the philosophy is uncompromising, but the results, at least in my glass, rarely justified the difficulty of getting there.