Vincent Dancer took root in Chassagne-Montrachet and established the family Domaine in 1996. With holdings spanning the Côte de Beaune, covering Beaune, Pommard, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet, he became a household name in Chassagne, but not without taking big chances. Vincent became the first certified organic producer in the village in 2012, producing wine in an individualistic and minimalistic way, and crafting terroir-driven wines. In 2016 his son, Théo, returned to the Domaine, working closely with Vincent before taking the reins in 2019. Théo has continued to drive this celebrated Domaine in the right direction as the new face of the family Domaine since 2021.

Much like his father, Théo trusts his instincts and believes inherently that the wine is made by the time it reaches the cellar. However, his cellar practices are similarly minimalistic with native yeasts, no bâtonnage, no fining or filtering, et cetera. Théo drives home the idea that each cuvée is truly a reflection of the terroir of their distinct vineyards, including Meursault Perrières, Chassagne-Montrachet Tête du Clos, and Chassagne-Montrachet La Romanée, as well as the Grand Cru of Chevalier-Montrachet. The combination of these robust 1er and Grand Cru vineyard holdings, an unwavering focus on extremely low yields, and truly letting the terroir of the vineyards shine through in their cuvées, has formed a strong foundation for Théo and Vincent Dancer into the future.

With the passing of the torch, Théo is not changing things in a major way at the family Domaine, while continuing to enrich the winemaking process from vineyard to bottle. There is already a very holistic and low intervention approach in the cellar, therefore much of the focus will be in the vineyards. For instance, beginning in 2023, there are no more engines in the ‘Echalas’ staked vineyards—only horses and work by hand. Through these improvements and Théo’s focus in bringing more ecological diversity into the vineyards, one can only imagine the level these energetic, textural, and mineral-laden wines will reach in the coming years.