Charles Lachaux: Temperament and Discipline

Trying to change the established order even in a wine region like Moravia is quite difficult, and things don't always work out the first time around. (The stories I could tell…) Imagine then changing the established order and staging a small revolution in a conservative region like Burgundy.

Charles Lachaux, the head of the Arnoux-Lachaux family domaine established in 1858 as well as his own eponymous négociant business, has succeeded in doing just that.

His attention to detail and relentless effort to max the potential of their 14 hectares (although when talking about his vineyard yields, minimal is the word) have led him to become one of the best and most sought-after producers in Burgundy over the last 10 years.

Grounded in their Vinagrologie © philosophy, Charles turned many things upside down, both in the vineyard and in the cellar: he stopped tilling and trimming the apex, increased the leaf area and changed the pruning system, threw out all the barrels and replaced them with ceramics. All this smash-dab in the heart of Vosne-Romanée. Respect.

Words by Milan Nestarec, photos courtesy of Charles Lachaux

I'll start off easy: the harvest is over, do you have more time on your hands now? And what do you do with it, travelling? I assume you're visiting your customers. How important is that to you?

Now that harvest is over and the wines are resting in the cellar, I finally have breathing room, but the work never really stops. I travel to visit customers and importers indeed. Meeting the people who drink our wine is essential – it keeps me honest, teaches me what resonates, and builds relationships that sustain a small domaine. And it helps me keep track of what is happening and how people react to our work.

I would like to ask you about your childhood and your parents. Were you a curious child from a young age? What was the most important thing your parents taught you? Which moments shaped you the most, from today's perspective?

They taught me respect for the land. And patience, that good work takes time. They raised my brothers and I telling us: you will never own it, you only borrow it from the next ones. Moments that shaped me, watching my parents push through all year long as we were living on the property. Everything that happened there was a part of our lives. The first time I tasted the deeper potential of a vineyard, and the decisions to change our approach in the vineyard. Those experiences taught me resilience and the value of long-term thinking.

What does the word "change" mean to you? You've made a lot of them in your life. Were you driven by dissatisfaction with the current state, or was it because you saw potential where others didn't? Do you think there’s an endgame, or is change a permanent process?

Change, for me, means adaptation and learning. Often it began from a mix of reflections, observations and curiosity. Seeing a better possibility for the health and balance of our soils and vines, quality and vineyard health. I don’t see change as ever having a final stage; it’s a continuous process. Vineyards, climate, markets and people evolve, and so must we, in my opinion.

I’m sure you have inspired many people – what inspires you?

If my work inspires others, I’m grateful, but it isn’t part of any of my goals. I am inspired by nature first, seasons, soil life, and balance. But also by art, architecture, and all crafts where attention to detail, proportion and restraint really matter and make a difference. Cross-disciplinary observation often gives practical ideas and new perspectives.

Is the term Vinagrology of your own invention? And how would you explain it – is it an all-encompassing term/philosophy for several regenerative approaches, or a compound of several philosophical directions together, or? It seems to me that growers sometimes blindly copy certain philosophies, but everyone should find their own position that suits them, that’s where interesting things happen. Often a noble idea becomes mainstream. What’s your take?

I use "vinagrology" as a personal, holistic way to think about vines and wine: combining observation, respect for ecology, and practical experimentation. It’s not a strict doctrine; it borrows from regenerative principles, biodynamic ideas, organic practice, and conventional knowledge where useful. The idea behind this word was to try to summarize everything we do and everything we have set up behind just one word. I agree growers sometimes might – maybe not "copy" fashions, but follow them, because it feels more easy and comfortable.

Real progress comes when you adapt ideas thoughtfully to your own terroir and convictions, your domaine, your foundations and to where you are willing to go, rather than following dogma.

When you think about it, your whole approach makes sense: no-till, no trimming, increasing the leaf area. Still, I reckon there were some moments when you had to adapt your practices? Basically, I'm asking about your fuckups [laugh], because they're not talked about much, but nothing can be done without them.

We definitely made some mistakes on the way. Trusting a single idea too rigidly, misjudging vine balance when changing pruning or leaf surface with no trimming, or letting grow a cover crop that competed too much with young vines. Those failures were instructive. They force you to measure, observe, and adapt.

I can't help but ask about global warming – not how to adapt, it's been discussed a lot and everyone has to find their own way. I'm interested in how you think that wine should and will taste in the future?

As temperatures rise, I think wines will evolve. We harvest riper fruit, different acidity profiles. We put more emphasis on lower yields, canopy management and earlier pick decisions to preserve freshness. Winemakers will seek balance – not simply higher sugar or power, but rather wines that keep energy, salinity and typicity. I hope the future will favor the expression of the different plots under our farming policy. But we cannot predict how wine will taste.

You have a special relationship with the Aligoté variety. What is it that you love so much about it?

Aligoté has vitality, freshness, saline energy and a directness I love. It speaks of place in a transparent way.

Why, in fact, has Aligoté fallen into oblivion?

Historically, Aligoté became neglected due to market preferences for richer, more fashionable varieties. And Chardonnay was more easy to farm in order to get ripe grapes, compared to Aligoté that needs more time to ripen.

People often talk about the need to change the varietal composition in the regions – in the case of your region, Aligoté could replace Chardonnay, which doesn't cope with climate change so well. But is that even conceivable in such a traditional region as Burgundy?

I don’t know, I don’t work enough with white wine varieties. For the reds, I believe with the right practices, Pinot can make it through. We will see.

DETAIL. A big thing. Is it something you have to have in yourself, or can it be trained? The best things are about details, they cost the most money and human labor. Why are they disappearing from today's fast-paced society, have we as humanity lost our sense of detail?

Attention to detail is temperament and discipline. You can train teams to care, but leadership and culture matter. If the leader demonstrates that detail matters, others follow. Modern pressures in the way people work, the scale, speed and costs make detail expensive, so it can be marginalized. But detail survives where people commit to craft, where markets value it, and where relationships between producer and consumer reward the invisible work.

The price of your wines on the secondary market has shot up by hundreds of percent. How important is it for you to know the end customer, track your bottles? How have you changed your business model and what do you apply today?

Knowing the end customer is important to us. It informs how we communicate and spread the allocations. We have adapted by focusing on long-term relationships with importers, restaurants and private consumers, and by practicing careful allocation rather than maximizing short-term sell-through. We sell and distribute our wines with the same philosophy we apply in the way we farm or work at the cellar. Attention to detail, precision and care.

Your mindset is to push the boundaries. What are you currently working on? Where do you think there is still room for improvement?

We are refining vineyard balance, soil life and low-intervention cellar techniques. There’s always room to improve consistency, to reduce shock to the vines and wine, and to translate small vineyard gains into better wine in the bottles.

There is a general societal tendency, sometimes even pressure to consume less alcohol. I’d guess that for you, wine is not just alcohol, though, rather a social thing that carries a certain philosophy, message, lifestyle.

Wine is culture and connection, a way to gather, to celebrate, and to transmit. It’s also a craft and an expression of care. Responsible consumption is important. But for me, wine carries a lot of culture, tradition and values. It enhances life.

The wine world is developing in a certain direction – what kind of environment would you like your children to arrive in, if they are the seventh generation? Less conservative? More open?

I would like them to inherit an environment that is curious, responsible, and more open to experimentation, but respectful of terroir and tradition.

What is the biggest obstacle to proper progress? Can we avoid the pain and reluctance that comes with change?

The biggest obstacle to progress is fear or the will to not change anything. Change inevitably hurts some stakeholders, managing that transition requires empathy, gradualism, and proof through example so others can see what is possible without reckless disruption.

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