Domaine Charles Audoin

Domaine Charles Audoin sits at the northern edge of the Côte de Nuits in Marsannay-la-Côte, just outside Dijon. The Audoin family has been farming vineyards here for five generations, though for many years they sold their grapes to négociants rather than bottling under their own name. That changed in 1972 when Charles Audoin and his wife Marie-Françoise, an oenologist, decided to start estate bottling. At the time, Marsannay wasn't even recognized as an official appellation, and Charles began with just 2.5 hectares of vines. He saw potential in these northern slopes that others overlooked, carefully selecting and acquiring parcels across the appellation's three villages: Chenôve, Marsannay, and Couchey. Over the years, he expanded the estate to 14 hectares, focusing on the best sites. The terroir here is diverse, with vineyards ranging from 250 to 400 meters in elevation, featuring fossil-rich limestone mixed with pockets of clay and silt. Each parcel has its own character, from the sandy clay of Clos du Roy to the stony soils of Charme aux Prêtres.

The winemaker's story

Cyril Audoin represents the fifth generation of his family in Marsannay. He joined the domaine in 2000 after apprenticing at vineyards around the world, taking over vinification in 2005 and fully assuming leadership in 2009 when his father officially retired. Charles still works in the vineyards alongside his son. Cyril chose to keep the domaine under his father's name, crediting Charles with transforming the family property and helping prove what Marsannay could achieve. His philosophy centers on expressing the unique character of each vineyard site rather than following trends or fashions. The domaine became organically certified in 2021, though Cyril had been farming with organic practices for years before that. He works traditionally in both vineyard and cellar, with hand harvesting, careful sorting, and moderate extraction to preserve elegance. The wines are aged in barrel with varying amounts of new oak depending on the cuvée, and they're bottled unfiltered. Cyril believes in letting the terroir speak clearly through the wine.

The wines

The heart of the domaine lies in Marsannay, where Cyril produces seven different red cuvées, four whites, a rosé, and an Aligoté from century-old vines planted in 1923. The flagship red is Cuvée Marie Ragonneau, named after Cyril's great-grandmother who kept the vineyards going after her husband died in World War I. This cuvée blends old vines from five premier sites including Champs Salomon, Les Crais, and Les Echezeaux. The single-vineyard bottlings showcase the diversity of Marsannay's terroirs. Clos du Roy, once owned by King Louis XI, produces both red and white wines with distinctive minerality from sandy soils. Les Longeroies offers rounder, clay-influenced reds. Les Favières, which Cyril considers one of Marsannay's best sites, delivers wines of remarkable precision and aging potential. Champs Salomon, planted by Cyril's grandfather in 1945, produces both powerful reds and rich Chardonnays. The domaine also makes small amounts of Fixin and Gevrey-Chambertin. Many of these vineyards are on the shortlist for premier cru classification, but for now they offer exceptional value as village-level wines.