It might not always be apparent, but Burgundy today is teeming with a new generation of talented and passionate young winemakers. Clarisse de Suremain personifies this new wave of growers, who are more concerned with making honest wines of passion and place than wines that gain prestige by way of price or appellation. A native Burgundian, Clarisse grew up in a family with a few hectares of vineyards in Monthelie and Rully. After some time away as a professional pianist and then as a business student, she had a chance encounter with the great Richard Leroy, who encouraged her to pursue winemaking. She returned home, studied at Beaune Viticole, and trained under the likes of Thomas Pico in Chablis, Château de Béru and at the Chateau de Puligny Montrachet.
Clarisse de Suremain is the daughter of a violinist and played classical piano from the age of 4 to 24. However, after attending business school, earning her master’s degree, and working for two years at a consulting company, Clarisse realized that she was living a life far from what she truly wanted. As the niece of Eric de Suremain from Château de Monthelie, who has 30 years of experience in biodynamics, her path to the world of wine was clear. Her studies in viticulture in Beaune were followed by three years of working in the vineyards for biodynamic winegrowers, in her uncle’s spirit. Clarisse particularly emphasises her work with David Didon as her most important mentor in biodynamic farming.
In 2019, she was given some vines—literally given to her for nothing—because the old owner didn’t see the value in growing Aligoté and Gamay in Burgundy. These two parcels, located in Volnay and Pommard, formed the backbone of a tiny new domaine that would bear her name. Eventually, she secured another small plot in Monthelie through her family, giving her just over 2 hectares in estate holdings. She has supplemented her tiny estate production by purchasing some organic grapes from Chablis, Pernand-Vergelesses, Beaune, and Chorey-lès-Beaune.
Clarisse works solely with organic/biodynamic grapes and uses minimal intervention in the cellar, These are serious wines of terroir that resound transparency, elegance, and contemplation rather than power of fruit or artefact. Inspired by natural producers in Burgundy, Clarisse strives to avoid using heavy doses of sulphur throughout the winemaking process. As a result, her wines exude purity, precision, and freshness. There is a seriousness to her wines, which can be enjoyed now but will only improve with age or time to breathe.
