A Burgundy Star’s Meteoric Rise

Joining the pantheon of great names in Burgundy is no small feat. The usual course involves decades of brilliant winemaking, a protracted clamor in the market for the wines, and a near disregard by collectors for pricing. Somehow, over the first 10 years as the winemaker of his family’s estate, Pascal Lachaux has vaulted this already notable domaine into a space reserved for only the most elite. 

Pascal inherited winemaking duties from his father in 2012, and the Lachaux name’s stock has only skyrocketed since. While his work for the family’s property (Arnoux-Lachaux) has been widely and increasingly recognized, the hype around his father’s négociant label (Charles Lachaux) also helped propel Pascal’s name into the limelight. Even when Robert Arnoux was making the estate’s wines under his own name, they were still an “insider” brand. While never the cheapest wines in Burgundy, they’ve always been exceptional, delivering unwavering satisfaction vintage after vintage. 

We were reminded of this, as well as these wines’ fabulous ageability, when we opened a bottle of 1993 Suchots (the Premier Cru vineyard that Pascal considers the domaine’s mascot) during this year’s La Paulée. Not only were we wildly impressed, but anybody we shared a pour with was also completely captivated. Even as the night wore on and the one-upmanship set in with the corkscrews, the Suchots was not lost among the flood of impressive Grands Crus. It was a true testament to the family’s legacy of producing top-tier wines. 

Pascal’s newer bottlings continue to build upon his estate’s reputation. And given the current trajectory, the sky truly does appear to be the limit for him and Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for this bright star.