PIERRE MOREY
Known to many as the Maestro of White Burgundy
Where the Vines Speak First
There are winemakers, and there are maestros. In Burgundy, the title belongs to those who listen to the land and understand its rhythm. Pierre Morey is one of them. Rooted in Meursault, with deep family ties and decades of quiet dedication, he crafts wines that express place with clarity and grace. Nothing is forced. Everything is felt.
The Morey family has lived and worked in Burgundy since 1793, long before the region’s vineyard names carried prestige beyond the local hills. In 1935, Pierre’s father Auguste became a sharecropper for Domaine des Comtes Lafon. This was a time of economic hardship between the wars, and sharecropping allowed growers like the Moreys to work important parcels despite owning no land. In 1983, Lafon chose to resume producing its own wines, which brought the lease agreements to an end and forced the Morey family to adapt.
Pierre’s knowledge and experience earned him a place at Domaine Leflaive, where he became cellar master in 1988. Over the next two decades, he helped guide one of Burgundy’s most respected domaines into a new era. His approach centered on treating each vineyard as its own voice. Even the smallest parcels were vinified separately, often requiring barrels of unusual sizes just to match the yields. Precision was everything. Authenticity came before efficiency.
When Farming Becomes a Question of Care
At the same time, Pierre was facing personal questions that shaped his philosophy. His young son was struggling with health issues, which led Pierre to reflect on the broader impact of farming and what we put into the land and into our bodies. These concerns prompted a shift in how he saw the vineyard, not just as a source of grapes but as a living system that required care and consciousness.
“The decade of the 80s was a decade of reflection on how we can protect the vines without having recourse to chemicals.”
—Pierre Morey, I’ll Drink to That!
In 1991, Pierre began converting his estate to biodynamic farming. Certification came in 1997. At the time, this was far from common and offered no market advantage. But for Pierre, the choice was obvious. He believed healthy soil produced better wine, and the signs of that health were everywhere. The way a vine looked. The scent of the earth. The consistency of energy year after year.
Hearing him speak on Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink to That podcast brings these values into focus. His voice is steady and calm, with no need to convince. You hear the rhythm of someone who has walked the vineyards for decades. His understanding was built not in leaps but in long, thoughtful repetition. What others might call mastery is, for Pierre, simply the result of doing the work with care and attention for a very long time.
A Family Thread, Woven Forward
Today, Domaine Pierre Morey is co-managed by his daughter Anne. She brings a fresh energy to the cellar while holding firmly to the values her father built. Her son Victor is now part of the story as well, after spending two years at Marquis d’Angerville in Volnay. A new chapter is beginning, and the commitment to the land continues.
Pierre may speak less now, but his influence remains strong. It lives in the vines, in the cellar, and in the wines themselves. His name belongs to the short list of Burgundy’s greats. Not because he sought it, but because he earned it.
