Yann Durieux - Recrue des Sens

Yann Durieux – Recrue des Sens is one of the most singular and sought-after names in contemporary Burgundy. Based in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Durieux has built a reputation for wines that sit outside the region’s conventional hierarchy, yet speak with extraordinary clarity, energy and conviction.

Before founding Recrue des Sens in 2010, Yann Durieux spent almost two decades at Domaine Prieuré Roch, an estate that profoundly shaped his understanding of viticulture, whole-cluster vinification and low-intervention winemaking. From there, he returned to family vineyards around Messanges and Villers-la-Faye, choosing the cooler, higher-altitude terroirs of the Hautes-Côtes as the foundation for his own domaine.

The vineyard work is uncompromising. Farming is organic and biodynamic, with a focus on living soils, plant balance and biodiversity. In a part of Burgundy once considered marginal, Durieux has shown how these elevated sites can produce wines of striking aromatic lift, freshness and intensity.

In the cellar, the approach is radical but deeply considered. Fermentations are spontaneous, extraction is gentle, and the wines are made without fining or filtration. Sulphur use is minimal to none, depending on the cuvée and vintage. The aim is not polish for its own sake, but truth – wines that feel alive, immediate and unforced.

The reds are vivid, perfumed and electric, with Pinot Noir expressed through fruit, spice, texture and movement rather than weight. The whites are similarly direct and energetic, carrying freshness, tension and an almost tactile sense of place.

Production is tiny, and demand has far outstripped supply as Durieux’s wines have gained cult status among Burgundy and natural wine collectors alike. Despite the scarcity, the wines remain deeply personal: instinctive, uncompromising and rooted in the landscapes of the Hautes-Côtes. This is Burgundy from the edge – pure, radical and intensely alive.