Domaine Xavier Monnot, previously Domaine René Monnier, is an 18 hectares large domaine located in Meursault, Burgundy. The winemaker is Xavier Monnot, who practices a sustainable approach, but is not certified yet.

Xavier Monnot’s style emphasizes the purity of fruit, elegance, and complexity.

The top wines of the domaine are Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes, and Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru.

The Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2018 scored 92+, the Meursault Premier Cru Les Charmes 2017 scored 92, and the Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Folatières 2017 scored 92 by the Wine Advocate.

Robert Parker said: “Aromas of ripe peach and citrus oil mingle with hints of clear honey and fresh pastry, introducing the 2018 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, a full-bodied, textural and gourmand wine that's the most muscular of Monnot's 2018 whites. While it's true to the charming, extrovert profile of the vintage, it should also reward a few years in bottle.”

Xavier Monnot, the sixth-generation winegrower, has been managing the winemaking processes at the Domaine Xavier Monnot since 1994. The previous winemaker was René Monnier.

The family has been in the wine business since the early 18th century. Xavier Monnot's mother married a Monnot from Maranges, Côte de Beaune, and ran the estate after her husband's death.

Xavier Monnot took over his grandfather's domaine in 1994 after obtaining a degree in oenology. He started replanting vines, planted on the S04 rootstock and made the first vintage under his name in 2005. Xavier Monnot is considered a leading winemaker in Meursault.

More than half of Domaine Xavier Monnot's wines are white. The domaine farms its vineyards according to a sustainable approach but with no certification.

The vineyards are ploughed up to 12 times per year, the vines pruned long, after which every second shoot is removed. The canopy is further aerated by taking off the leaves from the fruiting zone using jets of compressed air. Xavier Monnot prefers not to pick the grapes too early, but still with admirable tension, which stops them from becoming blowsy.

The white grapes are lightly crushed by foot, very lightly settled before fermentation starts in a barrel. Plenty of lees are stirred initially, then less after malolactic fermentation. The winemaker uses 25 percent of new wood for village wines and 30 percent for the premiers crus.

The reds are picked ripe, destemmed, given a cool pre-maceration and then fermented with more délestage than punching down. After pressing, the wines are transferred to barrels for malolactic fermentation for 12 to 14 months. Regional-level wines receive 15 to 20 percent new oak, village-level wines receive 25 percent, and premiers crus 30 to 30 percent.