In an evolving world of wide-ranging wine experience and emerging micro-négociant projects, Tino Kuban has garnered a lot of attention. After traveling all over the world, working with top winemakers including Mullineux in South Africa, Felton Road in New Zealand, Domaine Pierre Overnoy in the Jura, Dard & Ribo in Hermitage, from 2015 through 2017, he settled in Meursault to begin his own story. His journey began with purchasing Bernard van Berg’s estate and renaming it ‘Les Jardin Vivants.’ Beyond this miniscule production of 10hl/ha for the 1.5 ha of Domaine vineyards, Tino turned his attention to an exciting négoce project: Maison Glandien.

Much like his high level approach, when it comes to Les Jardin Vivants, Tino is exclusively purchasing grapes from selected suppliers he knows and trusts to meet his quality standards. He is farming and sourcing from the Côte Chalonnaise, including Mercurey, Cheilly-lès-Maranges, Saint-Jean-de-Vaux, Aluze, and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune. Sourcing Aligoté and Pinot Noir from these overlooked appellations, Tino follows a similar élevage to the Domaine wines, all cuvées ferment spontaneously, do not receive sulfites during aging in used-228L barrels, and only receive a minimal amount of sulfur during bottling.

Due to the composition of the base wines, Tino markets the Maison Glandien wines as ‘Vin de France.’ Like many of his colleagues in and around Burgundy, this is a term that does not scare off winemakers and consumers alike in this day and age. It also affords Tino the freedom to do things “his way” when it comes to long macerations, lots of punch downs, and other winemaking techniques that impart the character and singularity across his cuvées. 

These exploratory blends and single-varietal bottlings from Tino are an amalgamation of all the worldly experiences and styles of winemaking that rubbed off on him throughout his travels. Now, with a few vintages under his belt and a more developed network across the Côte de Beaune and beyond, the possibilities for Tino are endless, allowing him to continue to push boundaries and further produce wines that captivate and intrigue consumers across the spectrum of drinkers.