When we first met David Croix, just after the beginning of this century, he was the cherubic-faced acolyte of Pascal Marchand, the enfant terrible of Domaine de la Vougeraie, and a freshly minted graduate of the prestigious Lycée Viticole de Beaune. Shortly thereafter, he was tapped to run the revitalized Maison Camille Giroud, where he remained until 2021.
In 2005, while still at Giroud, David Croix assembled a group of private investors and acquired Domaine Duchet, rebranding it as as Domaine des Croix. The estate, comprising 6.37 hectares in the Côte de Beaune, principally in Beaune and Corton, was quickly converted to organic practices. These include cover cropping to enhance soil health and biodiversity. Manual harvesting ensures only the highest quality grapes are selected, and low yields are maintained through careful pruning and cluster thinning to concentrate the fruit’s flavors and quality.
Adhering to principles pf minimal intervention. the winemaking at Domaine des Croix focuses on purity and terroir expression. The process begins with cold maceration to gently extract aromas and color. There is a measured and variable use of whole clusters in the ambient yeast fermentation. Punching down and pumping over during the 15 to 20-day cuvaison period ensure balanced tannin extraction. The wines are then pressed, racked, and aged in French oak barrels (never more than 40%new ), allowing the vineyard’s character to shine through. There is no fining or filtration, and the wines are bottled with only minimal amounts of SO2.
