Cult Burgundy Wine Producer Arnoux-Lachaux Renounces Award Just Days After Michelin Unveils Inaugural Michelin Grape Recipients

Only days since the Michelin Guide - best known for its star rated restaurant awards - had unveiled its inaugural selection of Burgundy wine estates to receive its Michelin Grape award, and already contention has arisen regarding its ratings - not only from those from the wine trade who have debated its value to uplifting the wine scene, and of course the usual disagreements as to the guide's honourees, but instead it is one of Burgundy's fast-rising stars, and a recipient of the Michelin Grape, that has made clear its dissent.

Introduced only in 2026, the Michelin Grape has sought to rate wine estates and producers from one to three Grapes (similar to the Michelin Guide for restaurants), with also a longer list of notable mentions as well, based on a five point criteria of agronomy (vineyard management), technical mastery (vinification in the cellars), identity (the wine's ability to express a sense of place, the winemaker's personality or cultural heritage), balance (of the wine's traits such as acidity, tannins, oak, alcohol and sweetness) and consistency (quality sustained over multiple vintages). The guide had sought to start first with producers in Burgundy, France - full list of recipients here.

Yet historic Vosne-Romanee estate Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, helmed by mother and son duo Florence Arnoux-Lachaux and Charles Lachaux, had within days of having been named a recipient of One Grape from the Michelin Grape Guide announced their desire to abstain from the guide's ratings. In a post, Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux has emphasised their ethos of eschewing ratings or press evaluations since 2020, and have thus pointed to their absence of participation in the Michelin Grape Guide's assessments as therefore a lack of basis for their including in the guide.

Arnoux-Lachaux

Following the many reactions and questions from clients, wine lovers and journalists around the world regarding the Michelin Grapes selection, we would like to clarify our position.

We do not know how the Domaine's rating, reportedly based on five criteria, could have been established, as we have not received Michelin or presented our wines to the press since the 2020 vintage.

Since 2020, we have deliberately chosen not to submit our wines for press reviews or ratings. We have therefore asked Michelin to remove the Domaine from the selection, in keeping with this long-standing position.

We would like to thank our clients, partners and wine lovers around the world for their continued interest in our work and for their messages of support.

FLORENCE ARNOUX-LACHAUX & CHARLES LACHAUX

Founded in 1858, Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux was to stage a multi-generation ascent to legendary status with the estate having been first taken over by Robert Arnoux (at the time Domaine Robert Arnoux) who would later crucially pass the estate on to his daughter Florence and her husband Pascal Lachaux in 1995. The pair would ambitiously expand the estate's cellars and also acquire key Grand Cru parcels, subsequently also including their son Charles Lachaux to the family estate. Under Charles Lachaux the estate would find itself propelled to cult status with Lachaux's talent and revolutionary practices in the vineyards and cellars shining through its wines. Lachaux's viticultural regime would see the forgoing of vine trimming for more gentle pruning practices, along with the adoption of regenerative farming, as well as the re-introduction of whole cluster fermentation in the cellars. In 2018, Charles Lachaux would establish his own micro-negoce label under his own name, producing wines from purchased fruit - this would only serve to further bolster the esteem of the Lachaux name, both his family's Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux and his own Charles Lachaux label.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team