Pierre-Olivier Garcia
Summary
Domaine Pierre-Olivier Garcia, founded in 2016 in Nuits-St-Georges by the son of Burgundy's cartographer, cultivates family parcels and carefully selected négoce vineyards chosen for their adaptation to changing climate conditions. This meticulously hands-on producer employs the labor-intensive "baie par baie" technique, cutting grapes berry-by-berry and using a layered vinification approach to craft singularly perfumed, precise wines that balance delicate florality with expressive complexity.
Heritage & Leadership
Pierre-Olivier Garcia established his domaine in 2016 in his hometown appellation of Nuits-St-Georges. His background provides him with unique insights into Burgundy terroir, as his father authored the geographic maps of the Côte d'Or. Pierre-Olivier began with family vineyard holdings in Nuits-St-Georges, specifically parcels in Aux Herbues, Les Charmois, and Aux Saint Juliens. Since founding his domaine, he has expanded his portfolio beyond these initial holdings through long-term négoce contracts, adding Aligoté and Gamay alongside his Pinot Noir sites to create a diverse and thoughtful range of wines.
Vineyards & Wines
Pierre-Olivier Garcia's domaine is centered in Nuits-St-Georges, with key vineyard holdings in Aux Herbues, Les Charmois, and Aux Saint Juliens. He has strategically selected vineyards based on their future potential in changing climate conditions, particularly recognizing the value in sites like Les Charmois that were previously overlooked due to ripening challenges. Garcia has extended his reach beyond Nuits-St-Georges through négoce arrangements, incorporating vineyards that produce Aligoté and Gamay alongside his core Pinot Noir holdings, with some parcels reaching as far as Corton. All vineyards are farmed holistically, with Garcia personally investing significant time in vineyard management regardless of whether they are domaine-owned or négoce-contracted sites.
Philosophy & Practice
Pierre-Olivier Garcia employs a distinctive and labor-intensive winemaking approach across nearly all his wines. The cornerstone of his methodology is the "baie par baie" (berry-by-berry) technique, where grapes are individually cut from clusters with scissors, a meticulous process applied to all his wines except Aligoté and Beaujolais. In the cellar, everything is moved by gravity, and Garcia implements a layered approach to vinification, alternating whole clusters, berry-by-berry selections, and destemmed fruit in the fermentation tanks. This time-consuming process is integral to his winemaking philosophy, designed to produce wines with precise floral aromatics combined with expressive complexity. The result is a portfolio of wines characterized by their singularity and distinctive profiles that reflect both terroir and his unique production methods.