Domaine de Bellene was founded in 2005 at the initiative of winemakers who ceased their activities as landlords of their vineyards. The desire to control the entire production chain, from the vine to the marketing of wines, in order to ensure very high quality, was decisive in the creation of this winery. In 2006, the necessary real estate in Beaune and equipment were purchased (stainless steel vats with temperature control, stem remover, vibrating sorting table, sorting conveyor belt, etc.). After the purchase of the winery by Nicholas Potel, founder of the Maison Roche de Bellene , a long and painstaking period of work began to restore the old building, the history of which goes back several centuries, starting from the 16th century. Construction work took two years. The main goal of wine enthusiasts was to adhere to the HQE (High Environmental Quality) standards for construction in order to minimize the environmental impact of the renovation work. The Domaine vineyards stretch over 13.85 hectares from Santenay to the villages of Côte de Nuits, with 3 main centers in the appellations of Saint-Romain, Beaune and Savigny-Le-Bon. The origin of the domain name “Bellen” is a reference to the name of the city of Beaune, in which it is located, which reflects the desire of winemakers to make the estate the standard of Beaune wines. In the first century AD, this city was called “Belena” in honor of the sun god Belenos, then “Pain” and finally “Bon”. The oldest vines were planted here in 1904.
