What Is a Monopole? Burgundy's Famous Single-Owner Vineyards
Burgundy labels can make a single word feel like a secret code. Monopole is a good example. You may see it next to Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, or Clos de Tart and assume it is the ultimate quality classification. What it actually tells you is who owns the vineyard.
In short: a monopole is a named vineyard or climat held in its entirety by one owner. That is unusual in Burgundy, where the same famous vineyard can be divided among many domaines. It says nothing by itself about whether the wine is Grand Cru, Premier Cru, or village level, and it does not guarantee that a particular bottle is worth buying.
What Does Monopole Mean on a Burgundy Label?
Most Burgundy collectors learn to read a bottle in layers: producer, place, classification, vintage, and finally condition. Monopole is a clue about the place's ownership. Several producers can bottle wine from different parcels of Clos de Vougeot, but a true monopole has one owner across the entire named site.
That lets an estate manage the whole vineyard under one approach, and it makes the link between place and producer easier to follow. But monopole is not an appellation rank. Our guide to Premier Cru vs Grand Cru Burgundy explains the separate classification system.
What Are Burgundy's Five Grand Cru Monopoles?
When collectors refer to Burgundy's five Grand Cru monopoles, they mean five entire Grand Cru appellations held by a single owner: Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, La Romanée, La Grande Rue, and Clos de Tart. Four are in Vosne-Romanée; Clos de Tart is in Morey-Saint-Denis. The list refers to ownership of the whole named Grand Cru appellation. That is a narrower idea than a monopole parcel or a proprietary clos inside a larger Grand Cru.
| Grand Cru | Commune | Owner | Size | Collector's note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanée-Conti | Vosne-Romanée | Domaine de la Romanée-Conti | 1.81 ha | DRC's flagship vineyard |
| La Tâche | Vosne-Romanée | Domaine de la Romanée-Conti | 6.06 ha | Enlarged in 1936 when DRC merged its Les Gaudichots vines into it |
| La Romanée | Vosne-Romanée | Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair | 0.85 ha | Smallest appellation in France; bottled by the domaine since 2002 |
| La Grande Rue | Vosne-Romanée | Domaine Nicole Lamarche | 1.65 ha | Promoted from Premier Cru in 1992, retroactive to the 1991 vintage |
| Clos de Tart | Morey-Saint-Denis | Artémis Domaines (Pinault family) | 7.53 ha | Largest of the five; four owners since 1141 |
Romanée-Conti and La Tâche
These two Vosne-Romanée Grand Crus are monopoles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. They are distinct vineyards with their own identities, even though the estate name often stands in for both. Romanée-Conti covers about 1.81 hectares. La Tâche is more than three times larger, partly because DRC's holding in the neighboring Les Gaudichots was merged into La Tâche in 1936. For more on the producer and why demand is so high, read our guide to why DRC is so expensive.
La Romanée and La Grande Rue
The other two wholly owned Grand Cru appellations in Vosne-Romanée are La Romanée and La Grande Rue. Neither needs Clos in its name to be a monopole: a wall and single ownership are different things. The BIVB (Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne) lists both as held by one owner, alongside Romanée-Conti and La Tâche.
La Romanée belongs to Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair and sits just upslope from Romanée-Conti. At roughly 0.85 hectares, it is the smallest appellation in France. From the mid-1970s the wine was sold through Bouchard Père et Fils. The domaine has bottled it itself since the 2002 vintage.
La Grande Rue, owned by the Lamarche family, runs between La Tâche and Romanée-Conti. It became a Grand Cru only in 1992. In the 1930s, Henri Lamarche declined to apply for the rank, reportedly because he expected it to bring little more than higher taxes. The promotion was made retroactive to the 1991 vintage.
Clos de Tart
In Morey-Saint-Denis, Clos de Tart is the fifth. The estate describes its 7.53-hectare Grand Cru as the largest of Burgundy's five Grand Cru monopoles, and the vineyard has never been divided. It has had only four owners since the Cistercian nuns of Tart Abbey acquired it in 1141: the nuns, the Marey-Monge family from 1791, the Mommessin family from 1932, and the Pinault family's Artémis Domaines, which agreed to buy it in 2017 and completed the purchase in 2018. Here Clos refers to the walled vineyard, while Monopole signals single ownership. See our Clos de Tart selection for current availability.
Near Monopole Status
Some famous vineyards come close to monopole status without meeting the definition. Next door to Clos de Tart, Domaine des Lambrays owns 8.66 of the 8.84 hectares in Clos des Lambrays. A small parcel belongs to Domaine Taupenot-Merme, so Lambrays cannot print Monopole on its label.
Other monopoles are single-owner portions inside a larger Grand Cru, such as Faiveley's Corton Clos des Cortons. Many more exist at Premier Cru and village level, including Clos des Réas in Vosne-Romanée from Domaine Michel Gros and Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot from Domaine de la Vougeraie.
Does a Monopole Make a Better Wine?
For a collector, it is fascinating that one estate can farm the whole site and express it through its own decisions. But ownership is only one fact. The vineyard's character, the producer's choices, the growing season, and bottle age still matter. So do storage and provenance when the wine has spent years moving between cellars.
Clos de Vougeot is the counterexample to the famous five. It is a Grand Cru shared among many owners, and different producers make very different wines under the same appellation name. Single ownership is not required for great Burgundy. Get to know the domaine with our red Burgundy producer guide, then judge the actual bottle.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does monopole mean in Burgundy?
A monopole is a named vineyard or climat owned in its entirety by one producer. That is rare in Burgundy, where famous vineyards such as Clos de Vougeot are split among dozens of owners. The word describes ownership only. It is not a classification, so a monopole can be Grand Cru, Premier Cru, or village level, and the wine's rank still comes from its appellation.
How many monopoles are there in Burgundy?
A December 2024 inventory reported by the Italian Sommelier Association counted 208 monopoles in Burgundy: 5 entire Grand Cru appellations, 13 monopole portions of Grand Crus, 115 Premier Cru sites, 74 village parcels, and 1 regional parcel. So the often-quoted number five applies only to wholly owned Grand Cru appellations. The 208 figure is a dated inventory, not a guaranteed current total.
Which are the five Grand Cru monopoles in Burgundy?
The five wholly owned Grand Cru appellations are Romanée-Conti (1.81 ha) and La Tâche (6.06 ha), both owned by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; La Romanée (0.85 ha), owned by Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair; La Grande Rue (1.65 ha), owned by the Lamarche family; and Clos de Tart (7.53 ha) in Morey-Saint-Denis, owned by the Pinault family's Artémis Domaines.
Are Romanée-Conti and La Tâche owned by the same domaine?
Yes. Both are monopoles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, but they are separate Grand Cru vineyards with distinct character. La Tâche is more than three times the size of Romanée-Conti, partly because DRC's holding in the neighboring Les Gaudichots was merged into La Tâche in 1936. DRC also makes wine from Grand Crus it shares with other owners, including Richebourg and Échézeaux.
What is the smallest Grand Cru in Burgundy?
La Romanée, at about 0.85 hectares, is the smallest Grand Cru in Burgundy and the smallest appellation in France. It lies just upslope from Romanée-Conti in Vosne-Romanée and is a monopole of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair. From the mid-1970s the wine was sold through Bouchard Père et Fils. The domaine has bottled it itself since the 2002 vintage.
Are all monopoles Grand Cru?
No. Most Burgundy monopoles are Premier Cru or village sites. Examples include Clos des Réas in Vosne-Romanée (Domaine Michel Gros), Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot (Domaine de la Vougeraie), Clos de la Commaraine in Pommard, and Clos de la Fortune in Bouzeron. A monopole can also be one owner's named portion inside a larger Grand Cru, such as Faiveley's Corton Clos des Cortons.
Is Clos des Lambrays a monopole?
Almost, but not officially. Domaine des Lambrays, owned by LVMH since 2014, holds 8.66 of the vineyard's 8.84 hectares. Domaine Taupenot-Merme owns the remaining small parcel, so Lambrays cannot print "Monopole" on its label. Collectors often call it a near-monopole. It sits beside Clos de Tart in Morey-Saint-Denis and was promoted to Grand Cru in 1981.
Is Clos de Vougeot a monopole?
No. Clos de Vougeot is a walled Grand Cru of about 50 hectares, divided among dozens of owners, so wines under the same appellation name can differ a great deal. It shows that a clos (an enclosed vineyard) and a monopole (single ownership) are separate ideas. Clos de Tart is both. Clos de Vougeot is only a clos.
Does monopole mean the wine will be more valuable?
Not automatically. Price depends on the vineyard, producer, vintage, demand, and the condition and storage history of the specific bottle. Single ownership can concentrate scarcity, because one estate controls every bottle carrying that vineyard name. That helps explain prices for Romanée-Conti and La Romanée. Even so, La Grande Rue, also a Grand Cru monopole, has usually sold well below its famous neighbors.