Domaine Dujac

Domaine Dujac was founded in 1968 by Jacques Seysses, the son of a wealthy biscuit manufacturer named Louis Seysses. Jacques apprenticed during the 1966 and 1967 harvests with Gérard Potel at Domaine de la Pousse d'Or in Volnay, then purchased the modest Domaine Graillet in Morey-Saint-Denis. He renamed it Dujac, a contraction of 'du Jacques,' meaning the estate that belongs to Jacques. Graillet had mainly sold wine in bulk to négociants, so Jacques had to simultaneously build a customer base and upgrade the winery. The domaine's first estate bottling was the 1969 vintage, distributed largely to restaurants through his father's business connections.

• Jacques Seysses founded the domaine in 1968, purchasing the 4.5-hectare Domaine Graillet in Morey-Saint-Denis
• Trained under Gérard Potel at Domaine de la Pousse d'Or in Volnay during the 1966 and 1967 harvests before striking out independently
• First estate bottling was the 1969 vintage; the domaine expanded into Echézeaux and Bonnes-Mares shortly after
• In 2005 the domaine co-purchased Domaine Charles Thomas with Château de Puligny-Montrachet, adding Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Chambertin, and Vosne-Romanée plots and bringing total holdings to approximately 15.5 hectares

By Burgundian standards, Domaine Dujac is a young estate, yet it gained a solid international reputation by the mid-1970s and has held that position ever since. From the outset, Jacques Seysses broke with prevailing convention by championing whole-cluster fermentation at a time when most Burgundy producers destemmed entirely. That commitment to whole-bunch vinification, combined with a non-interventionist philosophy that allows terroir and vintage to speak, became the estate's defining identity. The second generation, led by Jeremy and his wife Diana Snowden Seysses, a UC Davis-trained oenologist, deepened that identity by transitioning the entire estate to certified organic and biodynamic farming.

• Jacques championed whole-cluster fermentation when most Burgundy peers destemmed; the technique is now widely recognized as a key tool for aromatic complexity and silky texture
• Domaine Dujac was among the first Côte de Nuits estates to commit fully to organic viticulture, earning certification in 2011
• Diana Snowden Seysses brings formal enological training from UC Davis and an international perspective to cellar management
• Exports approximately 80% of production to markets around the world, raising Dujac's international profile from its earliest decades

Dujac wines are vinified with little or no destemming depending on the vintage, using only indigenous yeasts and gentle extraction techniques including light punch-downs early in fermentation followed by pump-overs for smoother extraction at the finish. The result is a house style marked by lifted aromatics, precise red fruit, and a characteristic freshness that the stems contribute. Jeremy Seysses has described Morey-Saint-Denis wines as carrying notes of musk, nutmeg, and cinnamon, with a warmth and slight rusticity that distinguish them from the silkier wines of Chambolle-Musigny to the south. Tannins are refined rather than austere, and wines from the Grand Crus show the structured minerality of their individual sites.

• Grapes are vinified with little or no destemming, with the proportion of whole clusters determined by stem ripeness and vintage character
• Only indigenous yeasts are used, preserving authentic terroir expression; fermentation lasts approximately two weeks
• After light pressing in a pneumatic press, wines are transferred by gravity to cellar and aged 14 to 18 months in French oak barrels
• Red wines are typically bottled without fining; bottling takes place in February or March after approximately one year on lees followed by racking to remove carbon dioxide

The domaine's holdings span 17 appellations in both the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, with seven Grand Cru sites at its core. Clos de la Roche is regarded as the estate's flagship Grand Cru, offering dark fruit, mineral tension, and considerable aging potential. Clos Saint-Denis, of which the domaine holds 1.45 hectares across 2 parcels, is more delicate and perfumed, with fine tannins and floral character. Other Grand Cru holdings include Bonnes-Mares, Echezeaux, Charmes-Chambertin, Chambertin, and Romanée-Saint-Vivant. In 2014 the domaine added leased Premier Cru vineyards in Puligny-Montrachet, Les Folatières and Les Combettes, formalizing its white wine program in the Côte de Beaune.

• Clos de la Roche: approximately 1.95 hectares across 6 parcels, average vine age 45 to 50 years; regarded as the domaine's flagship Grand Cru
• Clos Saint-Denis: 1.45 hectares across 2 parcels, average vine age 45 to 50 years; the most delicate and floral of the Morey Grand Crus
• Seven Grand Cru holdings in total, spanning Morey-Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, and Chambolle-Musigny
• Puligny-Montrachet Premier Crus Les Folatières and Les Combettes acquired by lease in 2014, anchoring the estate's white wine offering

The core philosophy at Dujac is that the winemaker's imprint should be as discreet as possible, with winemaking and elevage serving to translate the unique expression of vintage and terroir rather than imposing a house style. Under Jacques, all wines were fermented as whole clusters with 100% new oak. When Jeremy's generation assumed control in 1999, the approach evolved: some clusters are now destemmed depending on vintage and stem ripeness, and new oak usage was reduced. Grand Cru wines generally receive 100% new oak, Premier Crus 60 to 80%, and village wines around 40%. The estate went fully organic in 2008 and earned certification in 2011, with biodynamic practices introduced in 2003. Target yields are approximately 35 hl/ha, producing just over 4,650 bottles per hectare.

• Under Jacques: 100% whole-cluster fermentation, 100% new oak for all wines; under Jeremy from 1999: selective destemming based on vintage, reduced new oak
• New oak graduated by tier: Grand Crus 100%, Premier Crus 60 to 80%, village wines approximately 40%
• Organic farming introduced experimentally in 2001 on one third of the estate; full conversion by 2008; certification in 2011; biodynamic practices since 2003
• Target harvest approximately 35 hl/ha; harvest is always manual; cordon training used on younger vines to reduce vigor; no herbicides used

Domaine Dujac is headquartered in Morey-Saint-Denis, a village appellation in the Côte de Nuits sandwiched between the more famous communes of Gevrey-Chambertin to the north and Chambolle-Musigny to the south. Jeremy Seysses describes the character of Morey wines with words like musk, nutmeg, and cinnamon, noting a warmth and slight rusticity that he considers the village's main appeal. The domaine's holdings extend across both Côte de Nuits communes and, since 2014, into Puligny-Montrachet in the Côte de Beaune. The estate lists its holdings in decreasing order of area across Morey-Saint-Denis, Clos de la Roche, Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts, Clos Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin Les Combottes, and numerous further Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites.

• Morey-Saint-Denis village character: musk, nutmeg, and cinnamon notes with warmth and slight rusticity, distinguishing it from silkier Chambolle-Musigny wines to the south
• Dujac holds three of Morey-Saint-Denis' five Grand Crus: Clos Saint-Denis, Clos de la Roche, and Bonnes-Mares
• Additional Grand Crus in Gevrey-Chambertin (Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin), and Vosne-Romanée (Echezeaux, Romanée-Saint-Vivant)
• Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Les Combottes, the southernmost Premier Cru of Gevrey bordering Morey, is considered by the domaine an extension of the Morey terroir