Arnaud Pelletier Crafts Dreams at Château de Prémeaux

Château de Prémeaux is a 15-hectare family estate located across several highly prestigious appellations in Burgundy: Nuits-Saint-Georges, the 1er cru “Clos des Argillières,” and the white 1er cru “Aux Champs Perdrix”… Arnaud Pelletier was not originally destined to take over the estate.

Arnaud Pelletier returns to the family estate

Arnaud Pelletier comes from a family of winemakers in Burgundy. With two brothers, he wasn’t expected to take over the estate. “I was a professional basketball player, but I had to stop because of an injury,” Arnaud explains. He discovered New Caledonia during his military service and decided to settle there. “I went to live with the tribes in the north. I lived off hunting and fishing. We had no set schedule—it was exactly what I loved,” he recalls.

“One day, I received a handwritten letter from my father. He told me that my brothers didn’t want to take over the estate and asked me to consider coming back.” Arnaud didn’t want to give up the estate, which had been in the family for five generations. So in 2003, he left New Caledonia to become a winemaker. After a year at the wine school in Beaune, he took over the family estate: “It was love at first sight! Now, we’re completely inseparable,” Arnaud exclaims about the estate.

In 2008, Arnaud and his wife returned to the estate and took over the family business

Our Estate's Favorite Cuvées:

Nuits-Saint-Georges: A rich, robust nose of red fruit and spices—pepper and cinnamon. Its tannins are silky. This is a perfectly balanced wine, full-bodied and round.

Hautes Côtes de Nuits Rouges: A magnificent, silky, and brilliant color. An explosive nose with aromas of exotic fruits and lemon, with a hint of smokiness.

Bourgogne Aligoté 2017: A lively white wine with pronounced fruitiness and aromas of yellow berries (plum, mirabelle plum) that makes a delightful aperitif and pairs perfectly with seafood.

Organic Farming at Château de Prémeaux

Château de Prémeaux is fully certified organic. “It was my father who began converting the estate to organic farming, starting with the plots in the Hautes Côtes de Nuits,” the winemaker explains. “He developed cancer due to the use of pesticides. That was the turning point, and we decided to change our approach.” ” At that time, Arnaud and his father had a virgin, unplanted plot in the Hautes Côtes de Nuits. “My father thought to himself: I have clean land; now is the time to go organic. ” First one plot, then another; little by little, the entire estate was converted to organic farming. The result is clear to Arnaud: “We’ve seen huge improvements in grape ripeness and, as a result, better-quality wines.”

Arnaud's father converted the estate to organic farming

Burgundy wines that reflect the diversity of their terroirs

The wine selection at Château de Prémeaux is extremely diverse. In fact, each vineyard plot yields its own vintage. In total, 9 red wines and 4 white wines showcase the richness of the château’s wine-growing terroirs. “We have many appellations,” explains Arnaud, “and even within a single appellation, each plot is different from the others. The difference is so pronounced that we prefer to separate our terroirs. How fortunate!”

The work is precise, meticulous, and delicate, as Arnaud tailors every step of the process to the desired profile of the vines and their quality. “I make my wines the way I like them,” he confides. “I’m looking for the sensation, the mouthfeel. I’m very interested in the texture of the wine; for me, that’s the absolute foundation.” Arnaud has his own work philosophy: “I often say: my job is to do nothing. If I’ve done my job well in the vineyard and during grape sorting, all I have to do is monitor my wine very regularly.” This requires meticulous and rigorous work, as the grapes arriving at the winery must be absolutely perfect. “It’s very important to harvest at optimal ripeness. The goal is to avoid having to disturb the wines once they’re in the tanks,” explains the winemaker. For Arnaud, ripeness isn’t measured solely by sugar content. He also looks at how easily the skins separate, the crispness of the seeds, and the phenolic content. The winemaker pays close attention to every detail, from the vineyard to the barrels. “We don’t use filtration or fining,” adds Arnaud.

Arnaud Pelletier chooses French oak for his barrels

In fact, all of the estate’s wines are aged in 228-liter barrels, although “the aging period isn’t fixed,” Arnaud clarifies, “it can vary from 12 to 26 months. It’s through tasting that I decide whether or not to rack the wine. ”For the past two years, Arnaud has been sourcing his own oak to make his own barrels and ensure traceability from start to finish. “We have to be precise about even the smallest details. I select my own oak from the best soils, I buy it, and four or five years after drying, I send the staves back to the cooper to make the barrel,” he explains. And he adds: “It’s these tiny little details that allow me to achieve what I love.”

Arnaud Pelletier: “We’re in the business of creating joy”

Château de Prémeaux invests in quality. It has a state-of-the-art winery and a dedicated workspace, but that’s not all. As Arnaud points out: “It’s not the machinery, whatever it may be, that makes good wines. We think things through; we’re constantly asking ourselves questions.” What if the key to quality were simply that? In the intelligence of our work, open-mindedness, curiosity, but also the desire to dream. “We plant vines and produce a product that serves no purpose other than pleasure. We are producers of pleasure. All this work for a product that serves no purpose other than to inspire dreams—it’s brilliant!” concludes Arnaud Pelletier.