Domaine de la Cras 'Cras' Monopole Bourgogne Blanc 2022

Domaine de la Cras sits high on a plateau between Dijon, Plombières-lès-Dijon, and Corcelles-les-Monts — 160 hectares of mixed agricultural land, including eight of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The estate was purchased by the Greater Dijon region in 2013 to protect the city’s green belt, curb urban sprawl, and support working peri-urban agriculture. Management of the vineyard was entrusted to the Côte-d’Or Chamber of Agriculture, which in turn handed the keys to Marc Soyard — a young, Jura-born winemaker with no family vines but an impeccable pedigree.

Soyard’s path ran through Vosne-Romanée, where six years at Domaine Bizot honed his skills as both vineyard manager and cellar hand under Jean-Yves Bizot. At Domaine de la Cras, he lives on site, tending the vines and making wines in his own name under a unique arrangement — paying rent to the city in bottles. Alongside the estate holdings, he also farms two small parcels of Pinot Noir in the Côte d’Or under his personal label.