France · Côte de Beaune

Prosper Maufoux

A Burgundy house based at Château de Saint-Aubin, Prosper Maufoux moves from steel-raised Bourgogne wines to Chardonnay-led Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites in the Côte de Beaune.

The producer

Founded in Santenay in 1860 and now based at Château de Saint-Aubin, Prosper Maufoux works with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir across a nine-hectare Côte de Beaune estate and a wider Burgundy range. Its holdings include Saint-Aubin, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru sites, plus Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru; the labels move from regional Bourgogne wines toward more tightly defined appellations.

The cellar choices are easy to taste. Bourgogne Chardonnay stays in stainless steel for floral fruit, lively acidity and a fresh finish, while Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc uses a partial French-oak component for more body, citrus, candied fruit and subtle wood. Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2023 combines cold maceration, roughly 15 days of vatting and stainless-steel ageing, bringing cherry, strawberry, spice, savoury notes and firm tannin without an oak-led profile.

Known for

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Bourgogne bottlings through Côte de Beaune Premier Cru sites and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru.

Notable facts

The story

The New York Connection

In 1947, Prosper Maufoux formed a partnership with The House of Burgundy, a New York importer. The arrangement joined a Burgundy house founded in Santenay in 1860 to a business based across the Atlantic. In 1994, Robert Fairchild, then president of The House of Burgundy, bought the House of Prosper Maufoux. A relationship that began as an importing partnership therefore ended decades later with the president of the New York partner acquiring the Burgundy wine house.

From the atlas

Prosper Maufoux

At A Glance

Prosper Maufoux is a Burgundy wine house founded in Santenay in 1860 and now based at Château de Saint-Aubin, in the Côte de Beaune. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir lead a range that runs from regional Bourgogne bottlings to Premier Cru sites and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. The practical contrast begins with the cellar: stainless steel keeps the Bourgogne Chardonnay fresh and floral, while a measured barrel component broadens the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc.

The Producer

The present wine house stands at 3 rue des Lavières in Saint-Aubin, after the Piffaut family acquired Château de Saint-Aubin and its vineyards. Its nine-hectare estate sits in the Côte de Beaune, while the wider cellar range reaches into several famous Chardonnay villages. HVE 3-certified sustainable viticulture, including biodiversity protection and economical resource management, supplies the farming framework; Nadine Gublin advises the winemaking team as it turns that fruit into both regional and site-designated bottles.

Place

Prosper Maufoux began in Santenay, first operating from a private mansion on the village’s main square. Its current Saint-Aubin address puts the estate within the Côte de Beaune, where Chardonnay can appear under a broad Bourgogne label or carry the narrower name of Saint-Aubin, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet or Chassagne-Montrachet. That hierarchy changes what the label is telling you: Bourgogne bottlings bring together fruit from a wider area, while the named Premier Cru wines focus attention on a defined appellation site.

The estate’s holdings include Saint-Aubin Premier Cru and Premier Cru sites in Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet, alongside Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. This gives the house a range in which Chardonnay can move from a direct, regional expression toward wines tied to individual Côte de Beaune appellations, while Pinot Noir provides the red counterpart in the Bourgogne range.

Soil And Site

The supplied record does not establish soil types, slope angles or vine ages, so the useful physical fact is scale: the Saint-Aubin estate covers nine hectares in the Côte de Beaune. The winery was built beneath the château courtyard with views over Clos du Château vines. That arrangement places cellar work immediately beside the estate landscape, rather than supplying a soil story the evidence does not support.

Story

Prosper Maufoux began when its founder left a career as a notary in 1860 to establish a wine house in Santenay. The house later developed an overseas connection through New York importer The House of Burgundy, then found a new home at Château de Saint-Aubin after the Piffaut family acquired the château and vineyards. The result is a Burgundy house with a historic Santenay origin, a Saint-Aubin estate and labels that stretch from everyday regional Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to named Côte de Beaune sites.

Vineyards And Cellar

The house describes its work as modern and non-interventionist, using slow extraction and gentle vinification. In a Pinot Noir such handling is relevant because extraction governs how much colour, fruit skin character and tannin enter the wine; in the 2023 Bourgogne Pinot Noir, a cold maceration at 10°C for two to three days comes before roughly fifteen days of vatting. Twelve months in stainless steel then avoids adding an overt oak flavour to its cherry-led fruit.

The two named whites show a different cellar choice. Bourgogne Chardonnay ferments, completes malolactic fermentation and spends ten months in stainless steel, preserving a floral, fresh-fruited profile and a lively finish. Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc combines stainless steel with approximately 30% French-oak élevage over twelve months; the barrel share, including new oak within that component, brings subtle wood and more weight alongside citrus, candied fruit and mineral notes.

Wines

Prosper Maufoux divides its portfolio into Grands Classiques and Vins Rares. The Grands Classiques are described as fruity and subtly taut, and include accessible regional wines such as Bourgogne Chardonnay and Bourgogne Pinot Noir. The Vins Rares move into the named village and classified sites, including Premier Cru wines from Saint-Aubin, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet, plus Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru.

Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2023 is 100% Pinot Noir blended from terroirs in Côte-d’Or, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne. Its cold soak, measured vatting and stainless-steel ageing produce a red built around strawberry, cherry, red berries, spice and firm tannin, with a savoury meaty note beneath the fruit. Bourgogne Chardonnay 2023, also varietal, draws on selected Côte Chalonnaise and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune parcels; its all-steel upbringing keeps body moderate and the fruit bright. Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc adds barrel-derived breadth without losing citrus-driven acidity.

In The Glass

Start with the whites. Bourgogne Chardonnay opens on floral and fresh-fruit aromas, then carries that fruit across an energetic palate with fresh acidity and a persistent finish; stainless steel leaves the citrus and floral notes unobscured by oak. Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc moves toward candied fruit and citrus, with a richer, more powerful texture. Its partial French-oak ageing adds a light woody note, while mineral character and lively acidity keep the finish dry rather than heavy.

The Bourgogne Pinot Noir is the more savoury option. Red berries, strawberry and cherry lead the aroma, followed by spice and a meaty note. On the palate it has juicy fruit weight, firm tannin and a dry finish. The stainless-steel élevage keeps the sensory focus on Pinot fruit and tannin rather than vanilla or toast.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Prosper Maufoux Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2023. It is 100% Pinot Noir, sourced across Côte-d’Or, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne, then given a two-to-three-day cold maceration at 10°C, roughly fifteen days of vatting and twelve months in stainless steel. The result is a dry red with cherry and strawberry fruit, spice, savoury meatiness, juicy body and firm tannin. It comes first because the winemaking steps are unusually clear in the glass: cold maceration and vatting build fruit and grip, while stainless steel leaves oak outside the picture.

Anecdote

In 1947, Prosper Maufoux formed a partnership with The House of Burgundy, a New York importer. The relationship remained part of the house’s history for decades. In 1994, Robert Fairchild, then president of The House of Burgundy, bought the House of Prosper Maufoux. The connection therefore ran from an importing partnership made in post-war Burgundy to the later purchase of the wine house by the president of that American partner. The business that had begun in Santenay in 1860 was, by then, tied to a New York relationship first established forty-seven years earlier.

Final Word

Prosper Maufoux offers Burgundy through two useful lenses: regional Chardonnay and Pinot Noir show how steel, cold maceration and partial oak change fruit, acidity, body and tannin, while the Premier Cru and Grand Cru holdings lead toward more specific Côte de Beaune appellation names. Start with the Bourgogne Pinot Noir for red fruit and savoury grip, then compare the two Chardonnays to see how stainless steel and oak reshape the same grape.

Sources

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