La Petite Empreinte is a super exciting domaine, started in 2020 in Courgis, Chablis, by Mélissa Bazin and Romain de Moor. Mélissa's roots are in Ardèche, and she's done stints with legends like Sylvain Bock, Les Deux Terres, Jérôme Jouret and Gérald Oustric, to name just a few. Romain is the son of Alice and Olivier de Moor, a famous name in the Chablis wine scene. The two met while studying in the Jura, where Mélissa apprenticed at Domaine Labet and Romain worked with Jean-François Ganevat. He's also spent time at Mas del Perié and Marcel Lapierre. The combined CV reads like a dream.

The original plan was to settle in Ardèche, but life had other ideas. In March 2020, right in the middle of the first lockdown, they took a leap of faith and applied to take over a small vineyard in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux. They got it, quickly packed up, and headed back to get started. The 0.76ha they inherited needed a lot of TLC. The goal is to grow to 3.5ha, which would give Mélissa enough space to run the show while juggling life as a mum to three daughters. The farm is currently in organic conversion, and they're big fans of agroforestry too. With just over 1ha already replanted, things are looking up.

For now, all the winemaking happens in the cellar of Alice and Olivier de Moor, and they bring the same slow, precise approach to everything they do. Minimal intervention throughout: whole bunch fermentation for the reds, super low SO2, and a lot of love and care.