Yet if tradition takes the form of a dogmatic belief, where nothing can ever be changed, it sows the seeds of its own destruction, for the world isn’t unchanging, and good traditions must recognise this.

The change that is on Claire Naudin’s mind is climatic. Weather patterns in Burgundy are becoming less predictable. April has always been a month of cold snaps and night-time frosts, but nowadays these frosts are preceded by a much warmer than average period in March that encourages the vines to become active. So, whereas these April frosts might not previously have caused a great deal of damage, now the delicate buds start to sprout earlier, and a crop can be completely wiped out in its first few weeks.

Clematis vineyard in Hautes-Cotes-de-Nuits, a vineyard somewhat hidden away in comparison with the highly visible vines of the main slopes, and a place where she feels free to experiment. She’s highly passionate about sustainability – the environment of course – but also the wider ability of vignerons to pass on their profession to future generations.

Claire’s Hautes-Cotes-de-Nuits vineyard has an unusual layout. Her vine rows are separated by 3 metres instead of the traditional 1, and her vines are trained far higher off the ground.

The benefit of this is that the vineyard becomes much easier to work, and the active parts of the vine are much further away from the ground, which reduces disease. Planting the vineyard is cheaper, and tractors can run through the land much more easily, reducing fuel use.

This reduces yields per hectare of land by 10%-20%, but production costs are also lower and security against adverse weather is higher. This vineyard has several times survived frost damage while all around have lost their crops.

The rest of Burgundy isn’t following yet, but it can only be a matter of time considering how good her wines are. According to Claire, the region “has a problem, which is the weight of tradition. People are afraid of change.”

“But just consider what is being done everywhere in the world apart from Burgundy. Everyone is planting low density. It is just technically obvious. Either you watch the future or the past. You are free to make your own decision.”

At first, she worried about the consequences of her approach. After all, if she intervened as little as possible and allowed the weather and terroir to express themselves, her wines would taste very different from one year to the next.

Yet, as Claire puts it, “it was too strong in my philosophy. I think my customers have understood this and it is not a problem. In fact, probably the contrary.”

We agree.

…read more about the Domaine Naudin 2023 release.