Domaine du Bonneau du Martray, a thousand-year-old vineyard, is one of Burgundy's most famous estates. Planted on the Montagne de Corton in Pernand-Vergelesses in the Côte d'Or, this legendary 11-hectare single vineyard lies on the border between the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. Ideally-positioned, facing west, these old Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines enjoy incomparable light throughout the day. With the sun rising over the Saône to the east in the morning and setting to the west in the evening, the grapes get more sun than any other in the region.
These vineyards, given to the Abbey of Saulieu by Charlemagne over 12 centuries ago, in 775, will remain part of this heritage for centuries to come, and the climates will endure just as they were 1200 years ago. The legendary Bonneau du Martray vineyard, one of the oldest in the world, was lost to erosion on the Corton hillside. This natural erosion was exacerbated by the use of chemical weedkillers and phytosanitary products. That's why today the estate makes it a point of honour to keep and put living organisms and the terroir back at the heart of its wine-growing art, to make a high-precision, high-quality production thanks to biodynamic viticulture.
Now owned by Stanley Kroenke, owner of the Arsenal football team and Screaming Eagle wines, Domaine Bonneau du Martray produces just two grand crus from a single vineyard perched on the Corton hillside. Excellence is the watchword of the domaine, which produces no Second Wine, so grapes that are not at the very top are simply discarded.
Corton and Corton Charlemagne are thus made from exceptional grapes, fruits of light, giving the wines a unique character and great ageing potential.
Domaine Bonneau du Martray's ambition is to bring out the full subtlety and elegance of the grapes in the Grand Crus it produces.
