Maxime Crotet

After spending eight years rubbing shoulders and making wine with none other than Frédéric Cossard, Maxime Crotet returned to his home village of Beaune in 2021 to begin his own winemaking journey. Fortune doesn't always favour the brave though, as 2021 saw severe losses to harvests in Burgundy, meaning Maxime had no other choice but to source fruit from friends and contacts in other regions, including Beaujolais, Alsace, and the Jura. As a result, Maxime ended up with a bountiful selection of Gamay, Pinot Noir, Poulsard, Trousseau, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Grenache and Carignan, to name a few, all of which he harvested himself, before vinifying everything in his cellar in Beaune.

Crotet prefers the natural approach to winemaking, using zero additives unless he considers it absolutely necessary. Wines are fermented in small tanks, before being transferred to small, mostly neutral barrels for anywhere between 8-10 months. His reds are all fermented without de-stemming, with some carbonic maceration utilised to really help the fruit sing. Tiny amounts of sulphur are used at bottling, but only for stability.

All of Maxime's wines are alive with life and energy, terroir driven and, crucially, incredible value without ever compromising on quality. From the fresh and lean Macon 'Peronne' to the perfumed and ethereal Bourgogne Hautes Cotes VV, the house style is one of abundant character, with everything drinking beautifully already and showing huge promise for what's to come in the future.