2D1F …
& plenty of drive(s)!
On a side
note…
Back to my roots
Making my wines and sharing them with you, with my feet in the Burgundian vineyards as well as in establishments across the world… Every aspect of being a winemaker is fascinating!
I discovered this job alongside my parents, at Domaine Philippe Naddef. Yet, I had planned to devote myself to electronics… until the call of nature and wine took over. So, I rapidly swapped my computer science studies for oenology, in Beaune.
This path led me to two renowned Burgundy estates: Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, then Domaine Bertagna, where I spent a few years honing my skills. In 2008, it was time for me to come back to the family estate, in Fixin. I worked there for 14 years with my father, Philippe, before taking over when he retired. And, gradually, another desire began to grow in my mind…
Winemaker in Fixin, Côte de Nuits
A new
chapter…
A thirst for creative wines
The “2D1F” seal? A nod to my parents’ winemaking legacy and to our last name, which is way too often misspelled! And, above all, the sign of my desire to get off the beaten track…
Alongside my parents, I learned rigorous attention to detail. My experiences away from the family estate allowed me to improve step by step. They enriched me, giving me the taste for exchanging ideas with fellow winemakers. Observing different savoir-faire pushed me to think differently, to question my convictions, and to go through with my ideas.
That’s why I launched my own winegrowing adventure in 2022: the “Michel Naddef” label is a 100% me. With it, I wanted to have fun, let myself freely explore my creativity. It is a way to share a piece of my sensibility with you…
In the vineyard
Keeping a weather-eye open
In my view, 80% of a good wine is determined in the vineyard. Everything starts with the grapes – their quality and meticulous selection.
That’s why it matters that half my grapes come directly from the plots of my family estate, which I cultivate myself. My Grands Crus and Premiers Crus, for example, are made exclusively from these Côte de Nuits vines. Whether it be in Gevrey-Chambertin, Fixin or Marsannay, I only have one motto: to care for every vine stock with respect for both the plant and the people, thanks to precise and sustainable work.
Cover cropping, several ploughings a year, late trimming, debudding, high trellising, leaf removal, green harvesting… I leave nothing to chance to get perfectly ripe berries. Fertilisers, herbicides and other chemical pesticides? They don’t belong here. Only biocontrol products can complete our preventive manual actions.
As for the rest of my supplies, there is one golden rule I will never break: buy only grapes, never wines. And even in this case, I keep a close eye: either I carry out the green work myself, or I closely monitor the management of the plots neighbouring mine. And, always, every bunch that enters my winery has been harvested by my own team!
In the Winery
Slowly, but surely
The excellence of a wine depends on careful selection at every stage of production: terroirs, plots, grapes, juice, barrels… The time spent on these tasks will be gained later.
At harvest, my team takes its time: hand-cutting each bunch, selecting them on site, carrying them in 20 kg crates in a refrigerated truck to keep their freshness intact, sorting them again on the sorting table. And after that, it’s still my team that handles the entire vinification and bottling process.
My vinifications are tailor-made for each vintage and terroir, from the choice of the harvest date to the proportion of destemming, the intensity of extraction or the length of fermentation. The proportion of new oak? It varies by cru: my regional cuvées see none, while my village wines get 20% and my Premier Crus and Grands Crus between 50% and 100%. For these barrels, I can rely on Tonnellerie Rousseau in Gevrey-Chambertin, which specially crafts 228L and 500L oak barrels, slowly toasted at low temperature. No fining or filtration after maturation. And then, the final touch: bottling, with natural corks selected for their premium quality.
In your glass
Wines that reflect me
With my bottles, I speak in my own name. But I never forget to highlight the essential: the voice of each plot. They, too, have their say!
I wanted to bring a true touch of modernity to my wines, both visually and in taste. Thanks to my winemaking choices, the personality of my cuvées can be enjoyed even in their youth (even though they also age well!).
What do I most want to bring out? The finesse of their tannins and their depth on the palate. And also let the terroir tell its own story, with the most neutral aging possible. Because day after day, I stay aware of how fortunate I am, working on land offering such incredible fruit — pure, delicate and complex at the same time…
