`Les Charmois` refers to an ancient forest of hornbeam trees, which typically grow on the limestone soils of Burgundy. The term ‘Charmois’ is also widely used in the Côte d’Or to describe the wilderness and land set aside for vine growing. The soils in this lieu-dit consist of high-slope limestone cobbles with a silty clay subsoil rich in iron oxides. These vines were given to Pierre Olivier Garcia by his father and inspired the creation of Moron Garcia.
Pierre-Olivier Garcia founded his eponymous domaine in 2016, with a small parcel of vines in Nuits-Saint-Georges and an old house in the village centre, which he restored and converted into a winery. From the beginning, his project aimed to restore biodiversity in these vineyards, something Pierre-Olivier felt had been lost due to the focus on single-crop farming across the region. This ‘eco-attitude’ means Pierre-Olivier experiments with cereals, ploughing, planting trees and even using chickens to graze the land, in an attempt to bring back bees and butterflies to his 0.4 hectares of vines. In addition to this, he sources grapes from a network of grower friends, with whom he works closely to have as much control over fruit quality as possible.