Domaine Daniel Barraud

The Barraud family viticulture in Vergisson began in 1905, when Jean-Marie Barraud arrived in the village as a sharecropper, and took its first formal step in 1912 with the purchase of the parcels that would become the foundation of the future estate. By the late 1930s, the family's second generation had begun bottling wine on the property, and in 1947 the first bottling of the Les Crays cuvee appeared, the cuvee that has remained the estate's reference parcel across five generations. Daniel Barraud, the family's fourth generation, built the modern estate across the 1980s and 1990s, gradually accumulating parcels across Vergisson and the adjacent Saint-Veran territory at Davaye. Julien Barraud, the fifth generation, joined the estate in 2006 after wine studies and has progressively taken on winemaking direction; his sister Anais joined in 2015. The handover has been gradual rather than abrupt, with Daniel continuing to advise on viticulture and Julien driving cellar choices.

• Jean-Marie Barraud arrived in Vergisson in 1905; first parcels of the future estate acquired 1912
• First Les Crays bottling 1947 by the family's second generation; the cuvee has remained the estate's reference parcel across five generations
• Daniel Barraud (fourth generation) built the modern estate across the 1980s and 1990s with progressive parcel acquisition across Vergisson and Davaye
• Julien Barraud (fifth generation) joined in 2006 and has progressively taken on winemaking direction; sister Anais joined 2015

The estate spans roughly eleven hectares of Chardonnay across three Maconnais appellations: Pouilly-Fuisse (centered on Vergisson), Saint-Veran (at Davaye), and the Macon village appellations of Vergisson and Chaintre. The Vergisson Pouilly-Fuisse holdings include four climats upgraded to Premier Cru in the September 2020 INAO classification: Les Crays (immediately below the Roche de Vergisson, with vines around sixty years old on steep limestone scree), La Marechaude (the Clos de la Verchere parcel within La Marechaude), Sur la Roche, and En France. The Verchere parcel below the Roche carries vines seventy years and older. Other Pouilly-Fuisse holdings include En Buland with vines around eighty years old. The Saint-Veran cuvees include Davaye parcels like En Creches and Arpege. The Macon-Vergisson La Roche parcel and a Macon-Chaintre parcel fill out the lower-tier estate fruit on younger plantings.

• Roughly eleven hectares across Pouilly-Fuisse (Vergisson), Saint-Veran (Davaye), and Macon (Vergisson and Chaintre)
• Four Pouilly-Fuisse Premier Cru climats (2020 classification): Les Crays, La Marechaude, Sur la Roche, En France
• Old-vine holdings include La Verchere (70+ years), En Buland (80 years), Les Crays (60+ years), and Alliance (40-60 years)
• Saint-Veran cuvees from Davaye parcels (En Creches, Arpege); Macon-Vergisson La Roche and Macon-Chaintre fill the lower-tier estate fruit

The Barraud estate practiced organic viticulture across the steep Vergisson slopes for many years before formal certification was completed. Daniel was an early proponent of reducing chemical inputs, with cover crops between rows, manual ploughing on the steep parcels (a practice Julien has emphasized further), and selective spray regimes that minimize copper and sulfur use. Julien has driven the broader shift toward formal documentation of the long-standing practices, and the estate now operates under certified organic farming across all parcels. Replanting is done parcel by parcel with massale selection from the estate's own old vines, preserving the genetic character of the original Vergisson plantings, including the rare old material in the Verchere and En Buland parcels. The viticultural identity is built around old-vine focus, with several parcels carrying mature plantings of considerable age.

• Organic viticultural practice across the Vergisson slopes for many years before formal certification was completed
• Manual ploughing, cover crops between rows, and selective spray regimes minimizing copper and sulfur use
• Massale replanting parcel by parcel from the estate's own old vines, preserving original genetic material
• Old-vine focus at the core of the estate identity, with mature plantings particularly concentrated in the Vergisson Premier Cru climats

The Barraud cellar approach is built around slow whole-bunch pressing, indigenous-yeast fermentations, and long elevage on fine lees. Each parcel receives a separate pressing, with whole bunches pressed slowly over several hours and the juice taken in successive fractions at low pressures. The juice settles in temperature-controlled tanks before transfer by gravity to barrel or tank, where both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations proceed naturally with indigenous yeasts. New-oak proportions are kept modest across the range, with most elevage in older barrels. Elevage runs ten to fifteen months on fine lees depending on cuvee, with the apex Vieilles Vignes and Premier Cru bottlings receiving the longest aging. Battonage is not practiced. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. The signature Barraud profile is a Maconnais Chardonnay with substantial mineral cut, slow aromatic development across several years in bottle, and significant cellaring potential.

• Each parcel pressed separately; slow whole-bunch pressing over several hours with juice taken in successive fractions
• Indigenous-yeast primary and malolactic fermentations in barrel or tank after gravity transfer from settling tanks
• Ten to fifteen months elevage on fine lees in older barrels with modest new oak; no battonage
• Bottled unfined and unfiltered; wines develop slowly across several years in bottle with significant cellaring potential