Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes
From the bottom of the climat opposite Puligny's Combettes, Référts and Charmes. Shallow limestone gives a broad, richly mineral Meursault; aged 12–14 months in roughly 30% new oak.
Côte de Beaune · Meursault
Domaine Xavier Monnot
Meursault's rising star, "overlooked no more"
Private producer profile
Côte de Beaune
Meursault
Profile
Meursault's rising star, "overlooked no more"
The domaine traces its roots through Xavier Monnot's mother's family, the Monniers, back to 1723 — six generations of Meursault winegrowing. For most of the twentieth century the estate bottled under the name Domaine René Monnier, after Xavier's grandfather. Xavier's father, a Monnot from Maranges, died young, and it was Xavier's mother who ran the domaine until Xavier himself returned to Meursault in 1994, straight from his oenology studies, to take charge.
Read full profile
He set about a significant modernisation — ripping out vines planted on the since-discredited SO4 rootstock, replanting with a mix of massale selection from old vines and new clones, and re-equipping the cellar — before renaming the estate Domaine Xavier Monnot and bottling under his own label from the 2005 vintage.
Today the 17-hectare domaine spans holdings inherited from both sides of the family — Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet on the white side, Volnay, Pommard, Beaune, Monthelie and his father's native Maranges on the red — worked with long pruning, repeated ploughing and canopy management by compressed-air deleafing. Long a name that flew under the radar, Monnot's wines have drawn increasing critical attention in recent vintages, with Vinous declaring the estate "overlooked no more."
At a glance
Family winegrowing since1723
Xavier took over1994
Renamed Xavier Monnot2005
Total under vine17 ha
TagLutte raisonnée
Tag5 Premier Crus
TagFamily since 1723
Tag17 ha
Tag60% white / 40% red
TagSixth generation
RegionCôte de Beaune
AppellationMeursault
TypeDomaine
Key wines
Meursault Les Chevalières
A stony lieu-dit behind the village toward Auxey-Duresses that regularly performs above village level. "There is always a big spine of acidity in Chevalières," in Monnot's own words — the estate's largest single cuvée.
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
Sited between Chartron and Pernot above the treeline; bought by Xavier's grandmother in 1978 after the family had already farmed it for a decade. Fine-boned, floral and mineral.
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru En Remilly
Yellow-marl soil on vines planted by Xavier's father and rented from within the wider family. A tiny cuvée — typically no more than four barrels a year — direct and mineral.
Maranges 1er Cru Clos de la Fussière
The domaine's link to Xavier's father's native Maranges, and its sole monopole. A mid-weight red of mulberry and blackcurrant fruit with fine, well-defined tannins.
Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
Old vines from one of Volnay's finest climats, combining a pre-war parcel with a younger 1978 planting. Dark, meaty and structured, built for the mid-term.
Meursault Le Limozin
A fresh, vibrant village Meursault with orange-blossom and lime cordial notes — an accessible entry point into the house style.
Bourgogne Chardonnay Les Grandes Coutures
The estate's regional white — buttered citrus and almond paste, fruit-forward and open-knit, drinking well from release.
Style & winemaking
Two families, one estate: The domaine's holdings reflect two family lines — Meursault, Puligny and Chassagne vines from Xavier's mother's side, the Monniers, and Maranges from his father's, the Monnots. Xavier's return in 1994, after his father's early death, reunited the estate under a single hand for the first time.
Modernising the vineyard: On taking over, Xavier prioritised replanting — removing vines on the since-discredited SO4 rootstock and reintroducing a mix of massale selection and modern clones, while keeping average vine age around 30–40 years. He favours lutte raisonnée ("reasoned struggle") over rigid organic dogma.
Read full winemaking notes
In the vines: Soils are ploughed up to a dozen times a year; vines are pruned long, with every second shoot later removed, and the fruiting zone is deleafed using jets of compressed air to aerate the canopy and encourage even ripening.
In the cellar: White grapes are lightly crushed and very lightly settled before fermentation begins directly in barrel, with generous lees stirring that continues, at a reduced level, after malolactic fermentation completes.
Oak & ageing: As a general rule Xavier uses around 25% new oak for village wines and 30% for premier crus, though individual cuvées vary from as little as 15% to as much as 35% depending on the wine and vintage. Wines typically age 12–14 months in barrel.
Overlooked no more: For years a quietly under-the-radar Meursault address, Monnot's wines have drawn sharply increased critical attention from the 2022 vintage onward, with Vinous highlighting a marked uptick in quality and declaring the domaine "overlooked no more."
Milestones
Earliest recorded winegrowing by the Monnier family, Xavier's maternal ancestors, in Meursault — the first of six generations
René Monnier, Xavier's grandfather, begins estate-bottling wine under the family name; his son and daughter-in-law later add further parcels, many from Xavier's mother's side
Xavier's father plants the young vines that today produce the estate's tiny Chassagne-Montrachet En Remilly cuvée
Xavier's grandmother acquires the Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières parcel, having already farmed it for the family for ten years
Xavier Monnot returns to Meursault after his oenology studies to take over the domaine, following his father's early death and his mother's period running the estate
The estate is renamed Domaine Xavier Monnot, with wines bottled under Xavier's own label for the first time
A breakthrough vintage draws sustained critical attention, with Vinous declaring a Meursault producer long considered "rather over-looked" to be overlooked no more
Enquiry
Producer interest
Discuss current or future availability linked to Domaine Xavier Monnot.