The Burgundy landscape is dotted with scores of tiny, family-run wineries, people who toil in vineyards and cellars to craft small quantities of wine from their home appellations. Arnaud and Catherine Tessier manage 7.5 HA of holdings in and around Meursault and produce around 45,000 bottles a year. Although the Domaine's history goes back several generations, Arnaud began farming the vineyards in 1989. Before that, the family rented their holdings to other producers.

Arnaud studied viticulture at the University of Beaune and worked with his father managing the vineyards until he passed away in late 2005. During this period, he also worked with his uncle at Domaine Jean-Louis Chavy in Puligny.

In 2006, with his father gone, he decided to vinify 3 barrels each of Meursault “Casse-Tetes” and “Charmes” to bottle and market under the family name. Over the next decade, he and Catherine gradually increased their own production. At the same time, they purchased well-placed vineyards of Bourgogne Blanc and Aligoté to supplement the 3 ha of family holdings in Meursault (1 ha of Villages and 2 ha of 1er Cru) that Arnaud inherited. They slowly increased production during this period. They didn't bottle their entire estate production until 2021.

The Tessier family’s parcels include some of the most famous in Meursault, including Charmes-Dessus (next to Lafon’s), Genevrières-Dessus and Poruzots-Dessus. Arnaud and Catherine do the lion’s share of the day-to-day work in the vineyards and cellar and are content to keep their family enterprise on a human scale (or taille humaine). As a result, it is also not uncommon for Arnaud to be on his tractor until 9 PM in season, when work is to be done in the vineyards. The family farms using natural methods, without chemical additives, though they lack official certification. The vineyards are densely planted, with 11,000 vines per hectare.

At harvest, they hand-pick and sort the grapes before pressing them at the winery. The wines ferment naturally in barrels, with judicious use of new wood: 10% for Bourgogne Blancs and 20-25% for the villages and 1er Cru Meursaults. The wines are held in barrel for 12 months, then transferred to tank, en masse, for further aging before bottling. Generally, Tessier rests the Bourgogne and Meursault Villages for 3 months and the 1er Crus for 6 months before bottling.

Although the estate is quite small, the Tessiers sell their wines in over 30 countries. The style is fairly classic, with textured, pure, non-reductive Chardonnay fruit built on a framework of minerality and soil tones, with only modest hints of wood in the background. The range of Bourgogne Blancs also performs well above its appellation and gives you that Meursault experience without the Meursault price tag!