Claire Naudin: Higher Reaches of the Côtes

What sets Claire apart is less the address than it is her ethos. She farms organically and has done so since the 1990s, but refuses certification, cautious that any official standard eventually flattens the very differences she has set out to preserve. She has also been openly critical of the AOC system, arguing it moves too slowly to account for a changing climate, which is part of why several of her cuvées carry the looser Vin de France designation instead. In the cellar, the approach stays consistent: native yeast, very little added sulfur, long aging on lees, and a habit of leaving wines unfined and unfiltered wherever the vintage allows.

     Walk through her range and one will notice most of the Hautes-Côtes cuvées are named after wildflowers found growing in the vineyards themselves, Orchis Mascula for the wild orchid, Viola Odorata for violet, Myosotis Arvensis for forget-me-nots, Bellis Perennis for the common daisy, Clematis Vitalba for wild clematis. These aren’t invented names for a label. From parcels her father identified decades before the Hautes-Côtes had any cachet at all, the flora point to vineyard biodiversity Claire has built her whole philosophy around. Even at the top of her range, in grand cru Échezeaux or Premier Cru Les Damodes, the same restraint applies. Naudin’s wines are noted for their transparency, delicacy, and intense character. Prioritizing the expression of each year’s harvest and specific terroir over consistent, standardized profiles,  critics say her wines often bear a distinct trademark. They call it honesty.