David Duband took over his family’s domaine in 1991. His father, Pierre, had primarily been selling grapes to the local cooperative, but all that changed when David was handed the reins. In 1999, he slowly began to convert the vineyards to organic farming, and he became certified in 2006.
Then in 2005, David’s business partner, François Feuillet, was able to buy Jacky Truchot’s holdings when he retired, giving the duo access to famous vineyard sites such as Clos de la Roche and Charmes-Chambertin. David now makes all the wines from these vineyards and sells half under his own label; the other half are sold under Feuillet’s label. Duband currently makes 23 different wines from the domaine’s original holdings, the old Truchot vineyards, and some purchased fruit. He produces about 150,000 bottles per year under his label in his winery in his hometown of Chevannes.
In 2008, David also started experimenting more with whole-cluster fermentation, saying in an interview with Wine Spectator, “My style completely changed…It makes livelier wines that are more elegant, more digestible and lighter. You get more aromas of flowers and spice.” His wines are as friendly as his he is—packed with red fruit, perfumed, rich, and complex and consistently getting better year after year as his winemaking style evolves.
