France · Côte de Beaune

Domaine Nathalie Richez

Domaine Nathalie Richez is a Chagny domaine founded in 2011 after Nathalie Richez retrained in Beaune, making hand-harvested Burgundy reds that move from tender Pinot fruit to darker, smoky Santenay.

The producer

At 37, Nathalie Richez changed careers, studied Winery Management at a Beaune wine college, and founded her domaine in 2011. The winery sits at 15 rue du Nantil in Chagny, on the border between the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. That location is reflected in the bottles: Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge Petites Combes is a breezy red with pretty Pinot fruit, tenderness, earth-kissed flavour and a clean finish, while Santenay 1er Cru Rouge Beauregard moves toward darker fruit, a more succulent palate and a touch of smoke.

Every grape is hand-harvested into crates and taken directly to the winery, preserving condition before fermentation. In Beauregard, a typical four-barrel lot and 25 percent new oak accompany the darker profile. The range moves from the open, tender Petites Combes to the deeper, smoky Beauregard, with freshness present in both.

Known for

Chagny red Burgundy with hand-harvested fruit, direct winery handling, and a range from tender Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge Petites Combes to darker, smoky Santenay 1er Cru Rouge Beauregard.

Notable facts

The story

At 37, Nathalie changed careers

At 37, Nathalie Richez decided to redirect her professional life toward wine. She enrolled at a Wine College in Beaune and graduated with a degree in Winery Management in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, she founded Domaine Nathalie Richez. The winery took shape at 15 rue du Nantil in Chagny, at the border between the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. Her own description of the work reaches beyond the first harvest: “I must work more than I can and work not for myself but for the future generations.” The Chagny address now receives hand-harvested grapes in crates before they become Burgundy bottles bearing her name.

From the atlas

Domaine Nathalie Richez

At A Glance

Domaine Nathalie Richez began in 2011, after Nathalie Richez changed careers at 37 and trained in Winery Management at a Beaune wine college. Based at 15 rue du Nantil in Chagny, on the border between the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise, the domaine is represented here by two red wines: tender, breezy Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge Petites Combes and darker, more succulent Santenay 1er Cru Rouge Beauregard.

The Producer

At 37, Nathalie Richez redirected her professional life toward wine. She joined a Wine College in Beaune and graduated with a degree in Winery Management in 2009. Two years later, she founded Domaine Nathalie Richez, turning formal training into a working winery in Chagny.

The wines carry that direct beginning. Petites Combes puts pretty Pinot fruit, tenderness and earth-kissed flavour into a clean regional red. Beauregard moves to darker fruit, a fuller, more succulent feel and a touch of smoke. The range has a clear change of register, from open and breezy to deeper and more worked.

Place

The winery stands at 15 rue du Nantil in Chagny, where the Côte de Beaune meets the Côte Chalonnaise. That address places the domaine between two Burgundy subregions, and the labels make the distinction visible. Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge Petites Combes carries a broader regional appellation, while Santenay 1er Cru Rouge Beauregard names a more specific Santenay premier cru wine.

The geography is modestly stated because the supplied wines provide no altitude, slope or climate claim. What can be read clearly is the movement from a regional Côte Chalonnaise bottle to a Santenay 1er Cru bottle, with fruit, texture and freshness changing along the way.

Soil And Site

No soil composition, exposure, altitude, slope or parcel geology is established for Domaine Nathalie Richez. The physical anchor is the Chagny winery and its position between the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. The wine detail therefore rests on named appellation, grape character and cellar handling, not on an invented geology: Pinot fruit and earth-kissed flavour in Petites Combes, darker fresh fruit and smoke in Beauregard.

Story

The domaine grew from a deliberate professional redirection. Nathalie Richez entered wine at 37, completed her Beaune training in 2009, then founded her own winery in 2011. Each step changed the scale of the decision, from choosing a new field of work to establishing a place where grapes could be received, handled and bottled under her name.

Her stated ambition reaches beyond one career or one harvest. She has written, “I must work more than I can and work not for myself but for the future generations.” At Chagny, that idea sits beside practical work: grapes arrive by hand, the bottles keep their regional names, and the two sourced reds retain distinct fruit and texture.

Vineyards And Cellar

All grapes are hand-harvested into crates and transported directly to the winery. The short journey from vine to cellar keeps the fruit in good condition before fermentation, so the starting material arrives intact instead of being left to deteriorate in the field or during handling.

That care fits the frank, transparent character attributed to the wines. The method does not need heavy explanation in the glass. Petites Combes keeps its Pinot fruit tender and clean, while Beauregard carries a darker, more succulent register. The latter is a small wine, typically four barrels, with 25 percent new oak, one new cask out of four.

Wines

Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge Petites Combes is the more immediately open red. Its pretty Pinot fruit feels breezy without becoming slight. Tenderness runs through the palate, while earth-kissed flavours add depth and keep the wine from feeling thin. The finish is clean, giving the bottle a light-footed but complete shape.

Santenay 1er Cru Rouge Beauregard occupies the deeper end of the range. Its fruit is darker and more somber, yet freshness remains present. The texture turns more succulent, and a tinge of smoke adds a darker edge. Its usual four-barrel production and 25 percent new oak belong to this bottle's more worked register, not to every wine made at the domaine.

Together, the bottles offer two ways to read the house. Petites Combes puts Pinot fruit, tenderness and earth in a breezy regional frame. Beauregard adds darker fruit, greater succulence and smoke within a Santenay 1er Cru label.

In The Glass

Petites Combes rises first with pretty Pinot fruit. In the mouth, the wine stays tender and breezy, while earth-kissed flavours fill out the middle without making it heavy. The clean finish leaves freshness and a clear sense of red fruit, with enough depth to hold the wine together from first sip to last.

Beauregard begins in a darker register, with somber fruit that still carries freshness. Its palate feels more succulent, giving the wine a rounder, deeper passage across the mouth. Smoke appears as a small shadow beside the fruit, and the finish keeps the wine from becoming dull. The four-barrel lot and one-in-four new oak detail sit behind a bottle that feels more worked than Petites Combes, while its freshness remains visible.

A Bottle To Understand It

Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge Petites Combes is the bottle to open first. It names the Côte Chalonnaise on the label and brings Pinot character into the glass through pretty fruit, tenderness, earth-kissed flavour and a clean finish. Its breezy feel makes the wine immediately readable, while its depth prevents it from disappearing after the first mouthful.

Start here for the clearest meeting of place, grape character and cellar care. The hand-harvested fruit reaches the winery in good condition, and the finished red keeps its flavour profile direct: soft through the middle, earthy at the edges and clean at the close.

Anecdote

At 37, Nathalie Richez decided to redirect her professional life toward wine. She entered a Wine College in Beaune and graduated with a degree in Winery Management in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, she founded Domaine Nathalie Richez. The new domaine took shape at 15 rue du Nantil in Chagny, close to the border between the Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. Nathalie later put her ambition into a single sentence: “I must work more than I can and work not for myself but for the future generations.” The address now holds a winery, hand-harvested grapes and Burgundy bottles with her name on them.

Final Word

Domaine Nathalie Richez begins with a career change and ends in two distinct red Burgundy registers. Chagny supplies the geographic anchor, hand harvesting protects the fruit, and the bottles move from tender Pinot fruit in Petites Combes to darker, smoky succulence in Beauregard.

Sources

Open Domaine Nathalie Richez in the interactive map →