Domaine Roc Breïa is the project of Théo Dancer, son of the Chassagne-Montrachet grower Vincent Dancer. He set it up in 2021 at Bray, north of Mâcon — territory well outside the classic Côte, chosen for its old vines rather than its label.

The estate covers ten hectares, three of them Chardonnay, planted between the 1950s and the 1970s. The soils had been farmed conventionally for decades, and Dancer’s first work has been to restore them through regenerative practice: cover crops, no synthetic inputs, and a deliberately light hand in the vineyard.

The wines are bottled as Vin de France rather than under an appellation, which gives him freedom in how he works. Vinification takes place at Chassagne-Montrachet with indigenous yeasts, no fining and no filtration, and ageing in used 500-litre barrels so that the wood shapes texture rather than flavour.

The Chardonnay is the more restrained of the two cuvées: citrus and white flowers over a firm mineral line, made for the table rather than for impact. It handles seafood, soft cheeses and the classic Burgundian escargots without difficulty.