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Domaine David Duband, based in Chevannes in the heart of the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, has established itself as one of the most respected names in Burgundy. Founded in 1991 by David Duband, the estate covers 17 hectares of certified organic vineyards and works 23 prestigious appellations from Gevrey-Chambertin to Nuits-Saint-Georges, including six grand crus. An advocate of whole-cluster fermentation and gentle winemaking, David Duband crafts Pinot Noir wines of remarkable finesse, elegance and intensity, served in sixteen three-Michelin-starred restaurants.
The story begins in the 1960s, when Pierre Duband founded a family estate in Chevannes and planted vines in the then-unfashionable Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, selling his harvest to the Beaune cooperative for three decades. In 1991, over breakfast, Pierre asked his son David — then 19 years old and serving his mandatory military service — if he wanted to make wine. The answer was immediate. That same year, businessman François Feuillet, CEO of the Trigano Group and Burgundy enthusiast, purchased a parcel in the premier cru Aux Thorey in Nuits-Saint-Georges and entrusted David Duband with farming and winemaking under a fifty-fifty sharecropping arrangement. Feuillet continued to acquire prime parcels — Vosne-Romanée, Échezeaux — and turned them over to David. In 2006, a major turning point: Feuillet bought the 7-hectare holdings of retiring winemaker Jacky Truchot, including exceptional parcels in the grand crus Clos de la Roche, Charmes-Chambertin and premier crus in Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-Saint-Denis. From then on, David Duband entered the upper echelon of Burgundy producers.
Domaine David Duband covers 17 hectares of estate-owned vineyards, certified organic by Ecocert since 2006, supplemented by purchased grapes from environmentally conscious growers. The family vineyards are located in Chevannes, at 300 to 400 metres elevation, in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, on well-exposed slopes where shallow limestone-clay soils force the vines to root deeply. The 23 appellations worked span the full spectrum of the Côte de Nuits, from Gevrey-Chambertin to Nuits-Saint-Georges, including six grand crus such as Chambertin, Clos de la Roche, Clos de Vougeot and Échezeaux. Since 1998, no chemical herbicides have been used; soils are ploughed and naturally grassed to encourage deep root systems and microbial life. Pruning is rigorous, yields controlled, harvest manual. In the cellar, David Duband has undertaken a revolution since 2008: he vinifies with 60 to 80% whole clusters (up to 90% for grand crus), spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, gentle punch-downs by foot, minimal sulphite additions. Ageing takes place in oak barrels with 20 to 40% new wood depending on the cuvée, without fining or filtration.
The Domaine David Duband range comprises some twenty cuvées, almost exclusively Pinot Noir, with a small confidential production of Chardonnay from the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. The entry-level wines — Coteaux Bourguignons, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Louis-Auguste (named in honour of David's son) — already display exemplary purity and freshness. The village wines cover Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges. The premiers crus — Les Sentiers and Les Gruenchers in Chambolle, Clos Sorbè and Les Broc in Morey, Les Pruliers and Aux Thorey in Nuits — express with chiselled precision the nuances of each climat. At the summit, six grands crus: Échezeaux, Clos de Vougeot, Clos de la Roche, Charmes-Chambertin, Latricières-Chambertin and Chambertin. The Duband style is immediately recognisable: aerial wines, floral and spiced, with a silky tannic texture, vibrant freshness and impressive length. Wines that drink beautifully young but possess considerable ageing potential.
David Duband embodies a rare figure in the Burgundian vineyard: a winegrower who has carved his own path between tradition and innovation, never renouncing one nor yielding to the other. Trained at the École d'Œnologie in Beaune, he took over the family domaine at the age of 19 in 1991, with only his passion and insatiable curiosity as tools. For a decade, he produced dense, concentrated wines marked by new oak and heavy extractions — the dominant style of the 1990s. But in 2006, he made a first turn by converting the estate to organic farming, then in 2008, a second, decisive one: after tasting old bottles from Domaine Dujac and Romanée-Conti, he adopted whole-cluster fermentation and a much gentler approach. Since then, his wines have gained in elegance, finesse and tension — qualities that have earned him regular comparisons with the greatest. A discreet perfectionist, he continues to evolve each year, exploring new practices such as foot punch-downs and the use of foudres for ageing. David Duband is above all a rigorous craftsman who lets his terroirs speak with rare authenticity.