Domaine William KELLEY
Pommard, Burgundy
Tucked away in the picturesque village of Pommard, William Kelley’s winery is quietly crafting some of the most distinctive wines in all of Burgundy—wines that defy comparison and break from convention.
William’s love affair with wine started early, sparked by a rare chance to taste a bottle of the legendary 1955 Château Lynch Bages. That moment lit a fire. During his time as president of the Oxford University Wine Circle—the oldest student tasting society in the world—he curated standout tastings that featured everything from grand names like Château Margaux to boutique producers like Yves Gangloff and Ulysse Collin. His deep knowledge spans French, Californian, German, and Piedmontese wines, and it clearly shows in his work. A graduate of Oxford with a doctorate in History, William brings both intellect and intuition to every bottle.
In 2015, he began contributing to Decanter Magazine, covering North America and reviewing Burgundy’s 2015 and 2016 vintages. His sharp insight has also appeared in publications like Noble Rot and The Robb Report. That same year, he was shortlisted for the Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer of the Year Award. A year later, he earned the prestigious Frank G. Prial Fellowship at the Professional Wine Writers' Symposium in Napa. In 2017, he joined The Wine Advocate, where he helped reshape the publication’s coverage of Burgundy and Champagne with fresh eyes.
The birth of William Kelley Winery came in 2018, with a micro-production of just 600 bottles of Chambolle-Musigny Les Fouchères. That first cuvée, handled with absolute precision, laid the foundation for a winery driven by elegance and finesse. He repeated the bottling in 2019 and 2020, aging the wines discreetly in a cellar in Chambolle-Musigny. Every bunch was partially de-stemmed using the meticulous pédicellé method—removing the grape from the central rachis, a time-consuming technique famously used by Lalou Bize-Leroy since the early 2000s. Painstaking, but worth every second for the quality it delivers.
In 2021, after acquiring an old winery, William expanded the range to include Gevrey-Chambertin Aux Etelois and Bourgogne Aligoté. The following year brought even more additions: Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes and Meursault Les Narvaux. Then in 2023, more vineyard parcels were added to strengthen the domaine’s growing footprint.
Up until 2024, William owned just two vineyards. The first—Beaune 1er Cru Les Chouacheux—spans only seven rows, yielding a single barrel per year. It’s instantly recognizable thanks to its high trellising—an unusual, labor-intensive practice inspired by Domaine Leroy, Dugat-Py, Jean-Marc Vincent, and Bruno Lorenzon. The idea is to lift the canopy away from the heat of the soil—an inverse approach to historical methods that favored heat retention. The farming here is nearly organic, using phosphonates to dramatically reduce copper use. The second vineyard, Les Pierres Blanches, is a stunning 0.36-acre site nestled into forested slopes. With its peaceful setting, altitude, and high tressage, it’s a hidden gem.
In 2025, William added more vineyards, including a rare parcel of high-altitude, century-old Aligoté, and several tiny but well-positioned plots in Pommard—all destined to be part of the 2025 vintage.
The winery itself is located in the historic, understated building that once housed Domaine MUSSY, which stopped production in the early 2010s. There’s still no signage—so unless you’ve got an invitation, finding the place is nearly impossible. It’s all part of the mystique and ensures that William can stay focused on what matters: the craft.
Every detail is deliberate. Labels are hand-applied, the bottles are sealed with the finest wax (like Domaine Raveneau still uses), and nothing is rushed. Custom-designed oak vats from Tonnellerie Taransaud—with wider-than-usual dimensions conceived by William himself—allow for slow, natural fermentation with zero additions. François Frères provides most of the barrels, the same oak reserved for legendary producers like Domaine Leroy, with a few special barrels made by Bruno Lorenzon adding an extra layer of complexity.
In the vineyards he farms directly, William uses horses instead of tractors to preserve soil health and finesse. The grapes are triple sorted—twice in the vineyard, once in the cellar—with zero use of sorting tables to avoid bruising the fruit. Destemming is done using a vintage machine from the 1960s, known for its gentle touch.
The whites are made with patience and precision. Pressing is slow and oxidative, using an old-school press. The juice flows straight into barrel and ages for at least two years, resting on its lees—a practice William believes is essential for greatness.
The reds marry old-school techniques from the ’50s with modern precision to keep the cellar completely free of brettanomyces. Bottling is handled by hand, using the traditional “Chèvre à deux becs” gravity-fed filler, a method nearly extinct outside of Domaine Bizot and Coche-Dury. Inspired by Lamy-Caillat, a custom machine monitors bottle fill levels under inert gas for added precision.
Though the wines have been in production since 2018, they were first released only in 2023. That speaks volumes. Top restaurants in Beaune and Paris, along with serious wine retailers in the U.S. and UK, have already taken notice. Interestingly, 50% of the production is bottled in magnums—and not a single one has been sold yet. That alone says everything about William’s long-term vision and commitment to building something truly lasting.
At just 35 years old, William Kelley is only getting started. He’s aiming for a modest estate size—3 to 4 hectares max—so he can stay hands-on with every step of the process. The goal? To create wines that will stand the test of time, marrying tradition and innovation in a way that few others can.
William Kelley Winery is a rare place where precision, humility, and a deep sense of purpose meet. The future is bright—and Burgundy will be watching.
Souveraine Limited exclusively handles the distribution of William Kelley's wines in Hong Kong and Macao. Alternatively you can also purchase these wines thru MUYI (our sister company) in Mainland China. If you're interested in securing an allocation of these exceptional wines, please feel free to reach out to us via the contact page.
