Domaine Meo-Camuzet was founded at the beginning of the last century when Mr etienne Camuzet, a member of the French Parliament for the Cote d'Or from 1902 to 1932, began to select vineyards whose location and reputation were of particular interest to him.
We owe to him our holdings in a sampling of Burgundy's most exceptional vineyards. Most notably in the Clos de Vougeot (he was the last single owner of the Chateau before donating it to the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin), the vineyard plots he acquired are among the best locations of the appellations.
His daughter, Maria Noirot, inherited his vineyards but she herself had no children so, at her death in 1959, she bequeathed the domain to Jean Meo, who was then working in the staff of General de Gaulle.
Maria Noirot et Jean Meo were distant relatives but the two families had close ties and Maria's will stated that "all should carry on", which of course has been respected. At that period, vintners under 'metayage', a sort of sharecropping agreement, were in charge of the vineyards and winemaking.
Jean Meo sold his portion of wines to famous local merchants. This agreement enabled him to pursue his Parisian career while keeping an eye on his Burgundian estate.
As of 1985, the estate began selling under its own label, directly from the cellars. And after 1988, it progressively took charge of the vineyards as the contacts with the vintners expired ; currently, 15 acres are cared for directly, while 13.5 remain under contract. All the appellations of the domain are harvested and vinified by us.
Of course, this was no longer manageable from Paris and a "return to the land" was needed. Jean-Nicolas Meo, son of Jean Meo, then took responsibility and is now in charge of technical and administrative matters. He is helped in these tasks by Henri Jayer who advises him on winemaking and by Christian Faurois, vineyard manager.
Philosophy
The objective is to make wines with structure and delicacy - with concentration as well as charm. The balance of a wine is essential: refinement and complexity are the hallmarks of great wines and represent the desired goals throughout the wine making and ageing processes. Of course, this notion cannot be separated from that of terroir.
