Burgundy
Yann Durieux stands apart in contemporary Burgundy. Former cellar master at Domaine Prieuré Roch, he founded Recrue des Sens in 2010 in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, choosing elevation and marginal terroirs over the established hierarchy of the Côte. His work is not an adaptation of Burgundy's traditions, but a deliberate shift in perspective.
Before founding Recrue des Sens in 2010 in the village of Messanges, Yann Durieux spent a decade as vineyard manager at Domaine Prieuré Roch. What began as a financially driven move into the Hautes-Côtes quickly became an artistic conviction: in this lesser-classified part of Burgundy, free from the historic hierarchy of crus, he found a canvas for a radically personal vision of wine.
Through a natural wine approach, he crafts Pinot Noirs that prioritise vitality, immediacy and a form of unfiltered truth. The wines are not shaped, they are revealed, placing Recrue des Sens as a singular and uncompromising natural Burgundy producer.
The vineyards are located primarily in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, at higher altitudes than the main Côte. These cooler sites, combined with limestone-rich soils, produce wines marked by tension and freshness. The altitude plays a defining role, preserving acidity and slowing ripening, contributing to the distinctive energy found in thewines.
Durieux works the entire estate biodynamically, with a vision of viticulture that goes far beyond the simple rejection of chemicals. Treatments are reduced to the strict minimum, vineyard work is largely manual or by horse. Yields are naturally low as a consequence of this demanding approach.
In the cellar, fermentations occur with indigenous yeasts only, extraction is deliberately gentle and sulphur additions are kept extremely low. Whole-cluster fermentation is used across the range, bringing additional tension, aromatic lift and a more tactile structure. Nothing is standardised, filtered aggressively or shaped to fit astylistic formula.
What makes Yann Durieux particularly compelling is that the wines never rely on the aesthetics often associated with natural wine. There is no search for volatility, oxidation or rusticity as stylistic signatures. Instead, the wines are remarkably pure, vibrant and transparent, with a sense of energy and precision that recalls the great terroir-driven wines of Burgundy.
Yann Durieux is the fourth generation of a family of winemakers from Nuits-Saint-Georges. He worked at Domaine Prieuré Roch for ten years before founding his own estate in 2010, which he named Recrue des Sens. The name comes from Yann's wish that drinkers engage their senses deeply when they encounter his wines. The acronym RDS is also his nod to a personal manifesto: resist, disobey, without submitting.
