Caroline Lestimé’s Burgundy venture sources small parcels and vinifies them separately into lees aged whites and oak aged reds.
The producer
Caroline Lestimé founded Maison Caroline Lestimé in 2016 as a separate venture for her own creativity. She buys grapes from small vineyard parcels and vinifies each parcel separately. The whites are barrel fermented and aged on lees with very little battonage. The reds are oak aged for up to 18 months in cool underground cellars. The wines are wonderfully fruity yet earthy, with terroir brought into the glass as the guiding aim.
Known for
Small parcel Burgundy wines
Notable facts
Caroline Lestimé founded Maison Caroline Lestimé in 2016.
Grapes come from small vineyard parcels, and each parcel is vinified separately.
White wines are barrel fermented and aged on lees with very little battonage.
Red wines are oak aged for up to 18 months in cool underground cellars.
The story
Caroline Starts Her Maison
In 2016, Caroline Lestimé began Maison Caroline Lestimé as an extension of her work, with room to explore her own creativity through a separate venture. She bought grapes from small vineyard parcels and vinified each parcel separately. The cellar divided the wines by colour: whites were barrel fermented and aged on lees with very little battonage, while reds were aged in oak for up to 18 months in cool underground cellars. Maison Caroline Lestimé emerged as a distinct set of parcel wines.
From the atlas
Maison Caroline Lestimé
Caroline Lestimé’s Burgundy venture, built around small vineyard parcels and wines that bring terroir into the glass.
At A Glance
Field
Detail
Region
Burgundy
Appellation
Côte de Beaune
Named bottle
Saint-Romain Sous la Velle Maison Caroline Lestimé
Style
White wine
Defining feature
Small parcels vinified separately
The Producer
Caroline Lestimé founded Maison Caroline Lestimé in 2016 as an extension of her work, giving her room to explore her own creativity through a separate venture. Her winemaking philosophy brings terroir into the glass, with the image of a classic Burgundy wine guiding the work.
At Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard, Caroline follows lutte raisonnée, an essentially organic and noninterventionist approach. The domaine has worked organically in the vineyard since 2010. Maison Caroline Lestimé remains a separate enterprise, with its own parcel sourcing and cellar work.
Place
The Saint-Romain village name appears in Maison Caroline Lestimé’s Côte de Beaune range, within Burgundy. The named bottle is Saint-Romain Sous la Velle, a white wine from the 2022 vintage.
The Maison also sources grapes from Saint-Romain, Chassagne-Montrachet and other appellations. Its place names therefore come from the small vineyard parcels chosen for each wine.
Wines
Maison Caroline Lestimé buys grapes from a variety of small vineyard parcels and vinifies each parcel separately. The whites are barrel fermented and aged on lees with very little battonage. Lees ageing allows the wine to remain in contact with the yeast sediment after fermentation, adding texture while the limited battonage keeps the handling restrained.
The reds undergo oak ageing for up to 18 months in cool underground cellars. The 2022 Saint-Romain Sous la Velle Maison Caroline Lestimé is a white Côte de Beaune wine. On the palate, it shows apricot and orange notes, high acidity and a very long finish.
Final Word
The wines are wonderfully fruity yet earthy, with Caroline Lestimé’s Burgundy venture organised around small parcels and terroir in the glass.