Studying viticulture in Beaune, young René Engel planned to take over the family vines from his stepfather, a Faiveley. This finally became a reality after the First World War – which René was lucky to return from after being held as a prisoner of war.
An intellectual, curious, and humorous man, René did not stop with the establishment of an eponymous domaine. Alongside dear friends, he founded, in what may be considered a marketing exercise to gain recognition for the region, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin – a high profile tasting group for Burgundy lovers. He also joined the University of Dijon as a substitute œnology teacher – a position he held for 12 years before officially becoming a professor. During his 35-year tenure with the institution, he shaped the ideas of generations of winemakers, including the likes of Henri Jayer. In a time when scientific knowledge around winemaking was still limited, René also built a œnology laboratory at his domaine, in an effort to continue expanding his understanding of winemaking.
Upon René’s retirement in 1949, his son Pierre stepped in at the domaine, where he was actively involved throughout his term as mayor of Vosne, until falling ill in 1970. Due to his debilitating condition, the domaine fell into a brief period of disrepair.
Only one of Pierre’s four children was interested in wine – Philippe studied at the Lycée Viticole in Beaune and following the death of his father in 1981, despite his tender 26 years of age, he, with the help of his mother, took over running the domaine.
Philippe and his mother spent the next 10 years recouping and improving the vineyards and the domaine. It was under Philippe’s considered custodianship that the domaine began to bottle their own wines in 1988 and quickly rose to prominence, soon considered amongst the best in Vosne.
Influenced by techniques he observed while travelling the United States, Philippe implemented new methods across the domaine – from vine grafting and soil remediation in the vineyards to introducing sorting tables, destemming, sulphur reduction and gentler filtration in the cellar. These new techniques were tempered by advice from his grandfather, whose input Philippe largely welcomed – except for the odd occasion where he felt compelled to ban René from the cellar.
From the early 90s, Philippe’s wines gained rapid acclaim until his sudden premature death in 2005 at just 49 years old. Unmarried and with no children, the domaine was left without an heir. After careful consideration of many ‘suitors’, the Engel family sold the vineyards to Francois Pinault of Château Latour, who now uses them for the production of Domaine Eugenie wines.
