Fourth-generation vigneron Laurent Féry returned to Burgundy after two decades in Asia to take the helm of Domaine Jean Féry, the family estate founded in 1922. With a background in engineering and luxury packaging, Laurent brings a global perspective to one of Burgundy’s historic domaines. Since rejoining just before the 2022 harvest, he has focused on respecting tradition while preparing the estate for the future - especially in the face of climate change. We spoke with Laurent about heritage, drinkability, balance and why wine is ultimately about sharing.
WS: Can you tell us about your role as the guardian of Domaine Jean Féry?
LF: I’m the fourth generation of Domaine Jean Féry, a family estate founded in 1922 by my great-grandfather. I was born and raised in Burgundy, in the small village where the winery is located, so I’ve always been in contact with vineyards and wine from a very young age.
I studied mechanical engineering and then moved to Asia for 20 years working in the luxury packaging business with clients in cognac, fashion and high jewellery. It was a successful chapter, but I always kept a strong link with Burgundy. I was very happy drinking Burgundy wines in Asia.
In 2022, after selling my company, we merged our domaine with another branch of the family—my cousins - which expanded us from 22 to 32 hectares. I felt ready for a new challenge and told my father I wanted to come back and help. His first reaction was, “No, don’t do that, buy another company!” But I insisted. I was proud of our history and wanted to return to wine.
I arrived just before the 2022 harvest, so in many ways I’m a newcomer. Today my role is to manage the estate and the team, to respect and continue the family heritage, but also to understand deeply what has been done in the past and what Jean Féry represents. At the same time, I try to look ahead. Climate change is a huge challenge. Global warming can bring opportunities for quality, but it also raises big questions about how we adapt our vineyards to more extreme conditions.
What I love most is the connection between farming and nature. You have to understand your terroir, your vines, each plot and manage people who do the daily work. Even with all the planning in the world, everything is driven by the weather. In Burgundy, we say nature is the queen. Some years she is generous, some years she is brutal. Coming from a business background, this was completely new for me. Now I check the weather forecast at least three times a day.
WS: What was the first thing you did when you arrived at the domaine?
LF: I wanted to understand the people. The domaine has grown a lot, from 7 hectares in 1999 to over 30 today, and this was possible because of a deeply committed team. Many people in the vineyard and cellar have been with us for 10, 20, even 25 years. Some are officially retired but still come to help because they’re proud of the wines and happy when visitors enjoy them. For them, that recognition is the best reward.
Viticulture is full of questions. There is no single recipe for how to grow vines. If someone had the answer, I’d love to read the book, but I don’t believe it exists. What I really enjoy is sharing the wines, travelling and meeting people. Honestly, you can call me any day and I’ll happily come to London to talk about our wines.
WS: How do you balance tradition with the expectations of today’s wine drinker?
LF: During my 20 years in Asia, I had the chance to taste extraordinary Burgundy wines, sometimes even better than what you easily find in Burgundy itself. These wines showed me the importance of precision and detail. I often tell the team: we look at the stars. We’re always asking how to make things better.
Making a correct wine is not so difficult today, science and technique are well understood. The difference lies in the details: vineyard work, picking dates, understanding maturity, ageing, bottling. Quality is in the detail. That means hiring the best people and investing in modern equipment, which has evolved tremendously since the days when I helped my grandfather.
WS: What is your earliest memory of wine?
LS: The vineyard itself. People imagine sunshine in May on the hills, and yes, that exists - but I also remember winter work, vine by vine. The commitment of the people always impressed me.
I started harvesting when I was eight years old, in 1989. I still remember the smell of the winery: crushed grapes, fermentation. It really touched me. Later, I began tasting wine one drop at a time.
I remember vintages very clearly - 1991 was rainy and difficult, 1995 was sunny. Each harvest brings pleasure, effort, sometimes hardship. But in the end, you’re always happy. That’s the life of a vigneron.
WS: What’s a very un-Burgundian thing about you?
LF: I spent 20 years living in Asia, very far from Burgundy. That distance gave me perspective. I may not see Burgundy with the same hyper-local detail as someone who never left, but I understand how people around the world dream about Burgundian wines and enjoy them.
I went from living in Bangkok, a city of 15 million people, to a village of 300. It’s a huge change - I love it. My engineering background also influences how I work. Our domaine has around 90 vineyard plots spread over 70 kilometres. Organising this complexity is something I enjoy, even if it’s not very “traditional vigneron.”
One concern I have is knowledge transfer. In Burgundy, so much know-how lives in people’s memories. Very little is written down. We have vineyard workers with 40 years of experience. We must slowly bring in younger people and pass on this heritage.
WS: What makes Domaine Jean Féry wines recognisable in a blind tasting?
LF: Balance. Burgundy is all about terroir, and our first goal is to respect it. Our wines are balanced and approachable, you should be able to enjoy them young, but also revisit them in 10 to 15 years.
Our signature is harmony between fruit, freshness, accessibility and acidity. The hardest wines to make are those that work both young and with age. We don’t like the idea of wines that must wait 15 years before giving pleasure.
Accessibility is very important to us. Wine doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s your birthday? You had a good day? Open the bottle and enjoy it with your family. Wine is for sharing. A great bottle alone is sad. A simple wine with good people, that is happiness.
WS: What’s the first emotion you want a buyer to feel after the first sip?
LF: When people say, “This wine makes you swallow,” that’s the best compliment. You want a second sip, then another and suddenly the bottle is empty. That’s drinkability. A great wine isn’t just one good glass. It’s a bottle you finish.
WS: Which cuvée surprises first-time buyers the most?
LF: For white, La Come Des Amoureuses Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc. It has minerality, a touch of reduction, richness, and charm, with subtle sesame notes from oak ageing.
For red, Clos du Magny. It has real dimension - fruit, spice, intense tannins, power and depth. It often surprises people in a very positive way.
WS: How do you start your day?
LF: Early. You meet the vineyard team in the morning - that’s a good start. My father is still here; every morning he makes coffee for everyone before sunrise. At the end of the day, we gather again, discuss what went well, what was difficult and share a drink. It’s a farm, after all.
WS: What food pairing instantly elevates your wines at home?
LF: At home, I like simplicity. Roast chicken with vegetables and Clos du Magny. Charcuterie and cheese with a Côte de Beaune blanc. A club sandwich with Côte de Beaune rouge. Pizza with Savigny-lès-Beaune, it’s perfect.
WS: What advice would you give someone cellaring their first Jean Féry bottle?
LF: Don’t just buy and keep, that’s boring. Buy and open with people you like. If you’re patient, keep a few bottles at the bottom of your cellar and forget them. When you rediscover them in three to five years, you’ll be very happy.
WS: Burgundy in one word?
LF: Complexity. Of terroir, climate, appellations, producers, vintages. The best way to understand it is to taste.
WS: Biggest myth about Burgundy?
LF: That anyone can fully understand all the climats. You can study them your whole life and never master it completely. Two plots, same work, same year - different results. That mystery is Burgundy.
WS: Biggest challenge today?
LF: Respecting the past while preparing for the next 10, 20, 30 years. Climate change is here. It brings opportunities for quality, but big risks for quantity. Over the past decade, yields have dropped by about 25%. We must adapt our vineyards, our teams and our thinking.
WS: One wine rule you secretly love breaking?
LF: Experimentation. In 2023, we produced a Blanc de Noirs from Pinot Noir, using grapes from Vosne-Romanée. Completely un-Burgundian. We made only 600 bottles, and the result was surprisingly good. We continued again in 2025.
Sometimes experiments fail, we once turned Aligoté into vinegar. But that’s the beauty of wine. You wait, you learn, you try again. We started using amphorae this way in 2016. One test, then another. Today they’re part of our regular work.
I love breaking rules, but slowly!
