Domaine du Comte Armand

Domaine du Comte Armand owes its other name, Domaine des Épeneaux, to the Clos des Épeneaux, a parcel of five hectares assembled by Nicolas Marey at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. Marey bought portions of both Le Grand and Les Petits Épenots and surrounded them with a wall; the domaine still holds the receipt for the completion of the wall, dated 1805. In 1828 the Clos des Épeneaux and its buildings in the centre of Pommard, known as the Fief de Rancy, became part of the heritage of the family of the Count Armand. The estate remained as such until 1994, when it annexed a vineyard plot in the neighbouring village of Volnay, followed later by parcels in the village of Auxey-Duresses. Today the estate covers a total of 9 hectares.

• Clos assembled by Nicolas Marey at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century; the receipt for the completion of its wall is dated 1805
• 1828: the Clos and its buildings, the Fief de Rancy, became part of the heritage of the family of the Count Armand
• 1994: a Volnay plot annexed, followed later by parcels in Auxey-Duresses
• Total estate today: 9 hectares

Pascal Marchand, a young French-Canadian, was hired in 1985 as the domaine's régisseur. When Marchand joined Boisset at the end of the 1990s, Benjamin Leroux succeeded him. Leroux had worked at the domaine on and off since starting his studies in 1991, and had also worked the 1994 and 1995 vintages at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon, the 1996 and 1997 vintages at Château Cos d'Estournel, the 1998 vintage at the Giesen Estate in New Zealand, and at Louis Jadot. In 2014, after 15 vintages, Leroux handed the reins to Paul Zinetti, who had worked with the estate since 2010. About 60 people take part in the estate's work over a year, mostly at harvest. Jane Eyre is the estate's technical manager, taking over technical responsibility for its wines. A Melbourne native, she has lived in France since 2004, has worked in viticulture and winemaking since 1998, and set up her own trading company about fifteen years before taking the role.

• Pascal Marchand: hired as régisseur in 1985; joined Boisset at the end of the 1990s
• Benjamin Leroux: succeeded Marchand; handed over in 2014 after 15 vintages
• Paul Zinetti: with the estate since 2010; took over the reins in 2014
• Jane Eyre: technical manager; Melbourne native, living in France since 2004

The Clos des Épeneaux covers 5.23 hectares in the heart of the Grands and Petits Épenots, and the estate counts it among the ten largest Premier Cru or Grand Cru monopolies of the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. Its vines range from 30 to 80 years old at a density of 12,000 vines per hectare. The Clos is divided into four units that are vinified separately, distinguished by year of planting, depth of bedrock (20 to 30 cm in the upper part, 60 to 80 cm in the lower part), soil structure and soil texture. Across the estate the vines average 50 years old. In Volnay, the Premier Cru Les Frémiets is divided into two parcels, planted in 1950 and 1980, that border the Pommard appellation on soil with a significant concentration of iron oxide; the Volnay Village comes from two lieux-dits, Les Grands Champs and Les Famines, vinified separately and usually blended once matured. The Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru blends Les Bréterins, a south-facing parcel with light, white soil, and Les Duresses, a southeast-facing parcel with brown clay. The Auxey-Duresses Village comes from a sloped, south-facing parcel with vines averaging 40 years, which the estate calls one of the most calcareous areas of the Côte de Beaune, at 30% active limestone. The estate also makes two Bourgognes: Bourgogne Condemaine, a Chardonnay from a 20-year-old vineyard in the Volnay lieu-dit Les Condemaines, and Bourgogne Aligoté, blended from a young vineyard in Volnay and a ninety-year-old Aligoté Doré vineyard in Meursault.

• Clos des Épeneaux: 5.23 hectares; vines 30 to 80 years old; 12,000 vines per hectare; four separately vinified units
• Volnay Premier Cru Les Frémiets: two parcels planted in 1950 and 1980, bordering the Pommard appellation
• Volnay Village: Les Grands Champs and Les Famines
• Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru: Les Bréterins and Les Duresses; Auxey-Duresses Village from a south-facing slope
• Bourgogne Condemaine (Chardonnay) and Bourgogne Aligoté

The estate uses no herbicides and ploughs its soils, mechanically or by hand depending on the parcel. No synthetic molecules are used for plant protection, under Ecocert control. The estate has reintroduced ornamental and medicinal plants and beehives, which let it reduce preventive treatments largely to herbal teas, such as nettle and dandelion, and decoctions, such as horsetail and wicker. The moon has guided the rhythm of work in both the vineyards and the vat house since the 2001 vintage. In March 2026 Vitisphere wrote that the estate's wines 'have been made biodynamically for over thirty years'.

• No herbicides; soils ploughed mechanically or by hand depending on the parcel
• No synthetic molecules for plant protection, under Ecocert control
• Herbal teas (nettle, dandelion) and decoctions (horsetail, wicker); ornamental and medicinal plants and beehives reintroduced
• Lunar rhythm followed in vineyards and vat house since the 2001 vintage

The harvest is 100% destemmed, with most berries kept whole rather than crushed. Vinification runs in three stages: a pre-fermentation maceration of 5 to 8 days at 13 to 14°C, a spontaneous alcoholic fermentation of 5 to 10 days, and a post-fermentation maceration of 3 to 15 days depending on the vintage. In most years the total maceration lasts about four weeks, which corresponds to a lunar cycle. Depending on the appellation and the age of the vines, the wines age 18 to 24 months in barrel. Most of the wines are neither fined nor filtered.

• 100% destemmed, most berries kept whole
• Pre-fermentation maceration of 5 to 8 days at 13 to 14°C; spontaneous fermentation of 5 to 10 days; post-fermentation maceration of 3 to 15 days
• Total maceration of about four weeks in most years
• 18 to 24 months in barrel; most wines neither fined nor filtered

The estate describes the Clos des Épeneaux as both powerful and refined, with a hint of spice it calls characteristic of the Clos. It describes the Volnay Les Frémiets as delicate and elegant from attack to mid-palate before quickly gaining structure for the finish, and the Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru as a serious, powerful wine. The estate advises patience, writing that young wines will not offer the richness of those that mature for a minimum of 10 to 15 years.

• In the estate's description: Clos des Épeneaux powerful and refined, with a hint of spice; Volnay Les Frémiets delicate and elegant through mid-palate, gaining structure on the finish

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/home/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/history-philosophy/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/the-actors/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/the-clos-des-epeneaux/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/vinification-and-preserving/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/appellations/pommard-premier-cru-clos-des-epeneaux-2/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/appellations/volnay/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/appellations/auxey-duresses-premier-cru-2/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/appellations/auxey-duresses-village-2/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/appellations/volnay-village-2/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/appellations/bourgogne-aligote-2/, https://www.domaine-comte-armand.com/en/appellations/bourgogne-condemaine-2/. Secondary sources: Burgundy Report (https://www.burgundy-report.com/spring-2005/profile-comte-armand-domaine-du-clos-des-epeneaux-pommard/, updated 26 April 2010) and Vitisphere (https://www.vitisphere.com/news-106135-australias-jane-eyre-takes-over-at-the-helm-of-clos-des-epeneaux-at-domaine-du-comte-armand.html, 5 March 2026). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.