How often are you able to truly get in on the ground floor of a new domaine, especially in Burgundy where so many are rooted in multiple generations. 2022 is the inaugural vintage of Famille Messager-Germain and it is evident that it won’t be long before it is a household name. I was lucky enough to visit the young couple, Simon Messager and Adèle Germain, on my recent trip to Burgundy in October and was blown away tasting through this lineup at the young domaine.

Adèle is full of energy talking about the wines, while Simon is a little more reserved, that is until you start asking him more in-depth questions about his winemaking. With Adele translating he opened up about how he believes it is all about the grapes, 98% is in the vineyards and just 2% is winemaking. He told us how, “there is no magic in the vines, it’s all work.” This translates to their focus on organically farmed vineyards and low-intervention winemaking in the cellar.

Adèle and Simon met studying at Lycée Viticole de Beaune. After school Simon worked for several winemakers locally, including Robert Groffier before returning to his family domain in 2018. During this time Adèle traveled to work in Portugal, South Africa, and New Zealand. The couple took over the 1.5 hectares of vineyards of Bertrand-Messager from Simon’s parents. Although Simon made the 2022s on his own (2023 will mark their first vintage as a team), he did them with Adèle in mind creating wines she told us she wanted to drink. In regard to their Fixin blanc, she specifically asked Simon to make her a reductive wine and that he did! For the Coteaux Bourgouignons Rouge they were looking to make a wine that could be served in local restaurants by the glass, something that was fun, food friendly, and ready to drink. This wine is incredibly aromatic, and smooth. Sadly only 1 barrel was made, and we brought in as many bottles in as we could! Tom Stelle, their importer talks of “Their bright, bouncy reds and mineral-dense, salty whites exemplify what these limestone-rich soils can yield with the right touch.”

With Adèle and Simon working in conjunction, they have taken on a large increase in winemaking starting with the 2023 vintage. With the addition of some negociant wines, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Morey-Saint-Denis, and Gevrey-Chambertin will all be added to the lineup for 2023 and production will increase from 8,000 bottles in 2022 to 17,000 bottles for 2023. I would get these wines while you can, and then be the first to show them off to your friends.   

-Hanna Krilov

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