Numa Cornut

Numa’s professional journey into winemaking commenced in 2008 when he assumed responsibility for his family’s esteemed Chateau Guiot, situated in the sun-drenched southern Rhone Valley. His solid academic foundation, including a comprehensive degree in viticulture and oenology, combined with his background as an agricultural engineer, provided him with the technical expertise essential for producing exceptional wines. Before establishing his roots in Burgundy, Numa embarked on a global odyssey of wine education, gaining invaluable experiences in various prestigious regions. His time in Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, proved particularly formative, equipping him with a unique perspective and innovative approaches that distinguish his wines in today’s competitive market.

The start of the Burgundy journey.

The year 2010 marked a significant milestone in Numa’s career as he transitioned into the role of a viticultural consultant in Burgundy. During this period, he developed a profound and lasting friendship with a talented young winemaker based in the renowned villages of Meursault and Pommard. This professional relationship continued to flourish even after Numa returned to oversee operations at Chateau Guiot, maintaining his consulting services for his Burgundian colleague. In 2021, this enduring friendship evolved into a collaborative venture in Burgundy, where Numa’s wines are now crafted in state-of-the-art facilities in Beaune, the historic heart of Burgundy wine production. This partnership represents the realization of Numa’s long-cherished ambition to produce wines from Burgundy’s exceptional terroir. Currently, he divides his time between managing the family estate in the southern Rhone Valley and nurturing his personal project in Burgundy.

The Burgundian vineyards, though smaller and diverse in appellations, are treated as naturally as possible.

Understanding and adapting to the unique challenges presented by the local climate, Numa implements strategic vineyard management practices to safeguard the harvest while maintaining the highest quality standards. His intentionally modest portfolio of 3.5 hectares allows him to maintain what he calls a “fun” size, enabling an unwavering focus on quality rather than quantity. The carefully selected vineyards are strategically positioned across the prestigious Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits regions, encompassing some of Burgundy’s most celebrated appellations including Meursault, Pommard, Volnay, Bligny les Beaunes, Cotes de Nuits Villages, Nuits Saint Georges, and the prestigious Vosne Romanee.

Working with indigenous yeasts, Numa embraces the unique mosaic of Burgundian terroirs, emphasising terroir over extraction. His meticulous approach involves careful selection of native yeasts that naturally occur in each vineyard, allowing for a pure expression of place. The clay-limestone terroir of Cote de Beaune results in wines with pronounced minerality, vibrant red fruit aromas, and remarkable freshness, while the Cote de Nuits, with its higher clay content and distinct soil composition, produces deeper, more concentrated wines characterized by darker fruit profiles, more significant density, and robust tannic structure.

In the cellar, Numa employs a minimalist approach, using as little new oak as possible to prevent overwhelming the wine’s natural characteristics. The wines are aged patiently in carefully selected barrels, allowing time for their unique character to develop and shine through. His decision to refrain from filtration is a conscious choice to preserve the specific aromatic profile and textural elements unique to each terroir.

Drawing inspiration from his experiences in Europe and Australia, as well as the ancestral knowledge passed down by his parents, Numa crafts wines that are the expressions of his wine-making journey — a journey that spans generations and continents, rooted in Burgundy’s timeless terroir.