Henry Frédéric Roch founded Domaine Prieuré Roch in 1988. Mindful of the wine-making traditions and pedological singularity of the Burgundy terroir, he developed and enhanced the domaine by scrupulously applying the ancestral methods of tending the vines, the vinification , and cellering which have historically made the wines of Burgundy so glorious, methods known today as “organics” and “bio-dynamics”. Becoming co-director of Romanée Conti following the death of his brother Charles, he shares his viticultural vision and his passion of fine wines with Yannick Champ, whom he has nominated co-director of Domaine Prieuré Roch. Our methods of élevage include barrel-ageing the wine. This is from mature vines grown on beautiful confirmed terroirs. We have the impression that wines from these vineyards... are worth maturing, not every year, but some years... for several years, perhaps 3 or 4 years. We have even matured some for five years. Actually this longer period enables naturally thinner wines, to naturally become much sharper, to have a purity... Always with wine put into barrels directly from the tank. This is without racking, or without adding anything. It is really about using highly pure fruit, apparently something much more prevalent in the past. That is what interests us, what we’re trying to develop. Which means more space will be required. We like to keep a little bit of stock, as a sort of hailstorm insurance, and it also as a remembrance of our winery. Anyway for remembrance, perhaps 60 bottles per year is enough. But after 10 years that is already a significant volume. After 25 it’s even worse. But in regards to insurance in case of hail, or just putting a significant amount aside... that represents piles of bottles. They all need storing under optimum conditions. So far we've managed this kind of storage... using external service providers, in cellars we rent. But it's complicated to manage, it’s expensive. It spreads out the risks, but it has very high labor costs. So we had the opportunity, to buy a small property next door. So we’re digging a big hole to set up a wine cellar, to be more independent. We'll never be totally independent... To be able to work with a more centralized facility.