Le Clos : a magical place
History of Le Clos
In 1999, Jean-Louis and Christine founded La Terre d’Or, featuring five prestigious guest rooms and five holiday cottages, to welcome lovers of Burgundy from all over the world. Their son Vincent took over in 2016, allowing Jean-Louis to embark on a new adventure, a nature and DIY enthusiast’s dream: Le Clos de La Belle Châtelaine, located just a few steps from La Terre d’Or, was born.
A three-century-old Clos, entirely organic: a vineyard, a truffle orchard, a fruit orchard, and a permaculture garden at the heart of the Montagne de Beaune.
Over the centuries, the Clos had fallen into silence after being struck by phylloxera, which arrived from the New World in 1895. Jean-Louis and Christine Martin dedicated themselves to bringing it back to life. Today, the Clos stands as a miniature Burgundy all on its own.
Jean-Louis
The Vineyard and Its Wine
After the destruction of the European vineyards by phylloxera 120 years ago, everything had to be replanted. As the forest had reclaimed the land in the meantime, it was first necessary to clear the area before planting a high-trained lyre-shaped vineyard, perfect for organic cultivation, as it allows sunlight to penetrate deeply into the foliage, greatly reducing the risk of disease.
After three years of effort without any harvest, the reward finally came in 2018 with 1,500 fine bottles. The success was confirmed in 2019 with 1,850 bottles, and again in 2020 with 3,000 bottles of a wine already powerful, fruity, and complex! It bears the Haute Côte de Beaune appellation, which Jean-Louis will be delighted to let you taste.
The Truffles of Burgundy & Périgord
Since childhood, Jean-Louis would go truffle hunting in the nearby forest with his father, so many truffle omelettes and truffled duck dishes! His dream was to one day have his own truffle orchard.
One hectare was therefore carefully prepared to accommodate 660 Burgundy truffle plants and 50 Périgord truffle plants, distributed among oaks, hornbeams, hazelnut trees, Austrian black pines, and cedars. After six years of effort and meticulous work on the land, the first truffle harvests finally arrived.
The Permaculture Vegetable Garden
Five years of hard work were needed to improve the soil without ever turning it over, the very foundation of permaculture. Underground life has returned, making the earth remarkably generous. Courgettes, tomatoes, lettuces, cabbages… Jean-Louis and his grandson Gaspard have created a vegetable garden full of variety.
