Guilbert-Gillet Acquires Domaine Clos de la Chapelle: Burgundy's Hottest Young Producer Just Got Very Serious

Benjamin Guilbert does not come from a winemaking family. He studied oenology in Mâcon, took his diploma in Montpellier, completed a Masters at the International Organization of Vine and Wine across 25 countries, and trained at Domaine de Montille, Clos des Lambrays, Domaine Guigal, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Domaine Trimbach, Domaine Gonon, Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, and Châteaux Smith-Haut-Lafitte and Haut-Brion. He cites Jacky Truchot, the reclusive former Morey-Saint-Denis producer, as his mentor. In 2020, he and his wife Caroline co-founded Domaine Guilbert-Gillet in Savigny-lès-Beaune with the backing of investor René Gillet, starting with 3.6 hectares of vines and a cellar beneath their house.

Five years later, those wines are some of the most talked-about bottles in Burgundy. Green wax seals, oversized bottles, no critic samples, sold almost entirely through a hand-picked network of international importers. These importers have intentionally avoided wine retailers and have focused heavily on placing them in the best wine restaurants across the world.  By 2025, the domaine had moved from mostly négociant bottlings to a full dozen domaine wines, with no négoce remaining in the lineup.

Now Guilbert-Gillet has made its most consequential move: the acquisition of Domaine Clos de la Chapelle, one of Volnay's most historic properties, backed by an investment syndicate. Benjamin will discontinue all remaining négociant wines and focus exclusively on domaine-bottled production. All vinification will continue in Savigny-lès-Beaune.

The deal transforms a micro-estate into a serious multi-appellation domaine overnight.

The History of Clos de la Chapelle

Domaine Clos de la Chapelle traces its origins to 1865, when Victor Boillot purchased the walled vineyard across the lane from the Gothic chapel of Notre Dame de Pitié in Volnay. The vineyard's history runs even deeper: the site was dedicated to the chapel in 1540, and the parcels were originally part of the Bousse d'Or, split between the Brotherhood of the Saint Sacrement and the Carmelite Nuns of Beaune before the Revolution redistributed them.

The property passed through the Boillot family for nearly 150 years (a different branch than the Boillots of Chambolle and Volnay) before Louis Boillot, the last family member, sold it in 2010-2011 to Mark O'Connell, an American Burgundy collector, along with local partners Pierre Meurgey (former managing director of Maison Champy) and Philippe Remoissenet. Under their stewardship, the domaine expanded from three original Premier Cru parcels to approximately 5 hectares across 13 sites.

Sizing the Clos de la Chapelle Acquisition

Grand Cru (0.50 ha total):

Corton-Charlemagne (0.30 ha, 7.0 ouvrées): Current market transaction data values Corton-Charlemagne at nearly 900,000€ per ouvrée. Valuation: 6 million euros.

Corton Bressandes (0.20 ha, 4.7 ouvrées): Current market data values Corton rouge at approximately 500,000€ per ouvrée. Valuation: 2.3 million euros.

Grand Cru subtotal: 8.3 million euros.

Volnay Premier Cru (~1.53 ha disclosed + En Carelle):

Clos de la Chapelle Monopole (0.56 ha, 13.1 ouvrées): At an estimated 175,000€ per ouvrée: 2.3 million euros.

Taillepieds (0.47 ha, 11.0 ouvrées): One of Volnay's top-rated climats with 65-year-old vines. At ~175,000€ per ouvrée: 1.9 million euros.

Santenots du Milieu (0.25 ha, 5.8 ouvrées): At ~160,000€ per ouvrée: 0.9 million euros.

En Carelle (size undisclosed, estimated ~0.25 ha based on the domaine's total acreage,): At ~160,000€ per ouvrée: 0.9 million euros.

Volnay Premier Cru subtotal: 6.1 million euros.

Pommard Premier Cru (~0.48 ha disclosed + Les Chanlins):

Les Chanlins (size undisclosed, estimated ~0.30 ha based on remaining acreage, 80-year-old vines): 178,500€ per ouvrée: 1.3 million euros.

Les Grands Epenots (0.23 ha, 5.4 ouvrées): 178,500€ per ouvrée: 1.0 million euros.

Pommard Premier Cru subtotal: 2.3 million euros at current classification.

Pommard Village (0.15 ha):

Rue au Port (0.15 ha, 3.5 ouvrées): 92,750€ per ouvrée. 0.3 million euros.

Beaune Premier Cru (1.24 ha total):

Champs Pimont (0.63 ha, 14.7 ouvrées): 70,000€ per ouvrée. Valuation: 1.0 million euros.

Les Teurons (0.27 ha, 6.3 ouvrées): At ~70,000€ per ouvrée: 0.4 million euros.

Les Reversées (0.34 ha, 7.9 ouvrées): 80,500€ per ouvrée. Valuation: 0.6 million euros.

Beaune Premier Cru subtotal: 2 million euros.

Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru (0.13 ha):

Sous Frétille (0.13 ha, 3.0 ouvrées): 52,500€ per ouvrée. Valuation: 0.2 million euros.

Meursault Premier Cru (0.125 ha):

Charmes (0.125 ha, 2.92 ouvrées): 700,000€ per ouvrée. ~2.0 million euros.

Meursault Village (~0.41 ha):

Les Vignes Blanches (0.41 ha, 9.58 ouvrée): The 2026 market data values village Meursault Chardonnay at 160,000-180,000€ per ouvrée. With 78-year-old vines at the upper end: 1.6-1.7 million euros.

Vineyard Asset Summary:

Adding the physical property (the cellars, winemaking equipment), existing wine stock in barrel and bottle, and the intangible value of the brand, the Clos de la Chapelle name, and the monopole, the total transaction value likely sits in the range of 25-30 million euros.

What Changes, and What Doesn't

First, the négoce wines are finished. Guilbert-Gillet had already been moving in this direction, transitioning from mostly négoce in 2021 to exclusively domaine wines by 2025. The Clos de la Chapelle acquisition completes that shift. Every wine will now come from Benjamin's own vines or those he farms directly. 

Second, all vinification stays in Savigny-lès-Beaune. Benjamin is not relocating to Volnay. The grapes from Clos de la Chapelle's Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, Beaune, Pernand, and Corton vineyards will travel to the Guilbert-Gillet cellar for vinification and élevage. 

Third, this transforms the domaine's profile entirely.The estate jumps from a micro-domaine known for Savigny village wines to a multi-appellation producer whose range will include Corton-Charlemagne, Volnay Taillepieds, Pommard Grands Epenots, and Meursault Charmes.

I have had the pleasure of tasting Benjamin's wines from the 2020 vintage onward. The 2020s were serious and well-made, the subsequent vintages increasingly precise, almost transcendent of their humble sites. If Benjamin applies the same iterative progression to Clos de la Chapelle's vineyards, the results could be spectacular.

He also inherits a strong existing team. Clos de la Chapelle's technical director Coralie Allexant-Manière and vineyard manager Frédéric Gaillard have been instrumental in the domaine's rise under Pierre Meurgey's management. Whether that team remains intact under the new ownership will be one of the key factors to watch moving forward.

Given that the 2026 growing season is underway, the first true Guilbert-Gillet vintage will be in 2027.  His Volnay Clos de la Chapelle Monopole, Corton-Charlemagne, and Pommard Grands Epenots will be among the most closely watched releases in the Côte de Beaune.