The charismatic, warm and fiercely-loved Nicolas Potel left the world stage on Friday afternoon, June 27, 2025. His warm smile, boisterous sense of humor and affinity for a good time had a way of making everyone in his presence feel that a fine time was about to be enjoyed by all. A natural entrepreneur with never-ending ideas, Nicolas leaves behind a legacy through his Domaine de Bellene and négociant business Roche de Bellene that he established in 2005.
This was a reincarnation after selling his first négociant business, Maison Nicolas Potel, to the Cottin brothers at Labouré-Roi. Established in 1997, the name Maison Nicolas Potel continues to grace labels as he sold the brand name, despite Nicolas not being involved since 2009. Nicolas believed in small lot wines made from very old vines. The Cottin brothers had different ideas. Still, the cash infusion in the early aughts allowed him to establish Bellene.
Under his Roche de Bellene label, he also made the value-driven label Bellenos which included crémant, white, rosé and red. Nicolas believed that wines should be opened and shared — which he did himself — and not be exorbitantly expensive. But, Burgundy prices continue to skyrocket, and Nicolas told me last year that the prices he pays for his négociant Bourgogne reds and whites are his ex-cellar prices (what importers pay) for his domaine wines. In the next breath, he said, “But I want to rewind prices for 2023 to 2018 or 2019 prices.”
A Volnay native, Nicolas’ gregarious nature helped him weave an extensive web of contacts in the wine business. His family ties through his father, Gérard Potel — another giant personality who ran Volnay’s Domaine de la Pousse d’Or from 1964 until his passing in 1996 — helped, too. Between his domaine and négociant wines, Nicolas often made over 100 wines a year. He seemed to know everyone and every vineyard in Burgundy.
Still, his knowledge of every négociant wine’s details seemed as deep as that of his domaine wines. No detail was too small to note, which can be seen in the labels of all his Bellene wines. They note the number of bottles (including 750 mls, magnums, jeroboams), vineyard surface area, vine age, rootstock, planting density, soil type, exposition, altitude, slope and even GPS location. Harvest date, fermentation and aging vessels, final malolactic fermentation percentage, fining and filtration details and bottling date can be found, too. Years ago I asked him how he managed so many details, and he said, “You just write down all you know, then most details don’t change much year after year.” Nicolas made everything seem easy.
He was an early believer in organic farming, managing his family’s vines Volnay, Pommard and Santenay in this manner from the 1990s on. His philosophy was informed in part by his extensive travels, working with top domaines in California and especially Australia. This wasn’t just a marketing gimmick. Anytime Nicolas made a meal (which was often), he emphasized that all of the ingredients were organic. He even invested recently in a farm project dedicated producing to high quality, organic foods.
In the cellar, the details counted just as much for Nicolas. Hand picking, sorting tables, vertical presses and the biodynamic calendar were just a few of his tools, but arguably the most important was his clever mind. He knew all the ins and outs of making wine. Tasting in his cellars a week ago when one of dozens of samples showed a bit volatile, he showed zero concern saying, “We’ll take care of it.” While unrelentingly determined to showcase terroir and do so naturally, he was technically talented, too.
Tastings with Nicolas were epic, typically held in the beautiful 16th century Cistercian abbey he owned in Beaune. Seeing it for the first time after Nicolas purchased it, Tim Atkin MW turned to me and said, “This needs colossal work.” Nicolas wasn’t phased and seemed to thrive on resurrecting the property. It now has several apartments for family members and a wine store and tasting program for visitors. There is also a recently refinished, multi-room apartment with a professional kitchen and swimming pool available for rent by vacationing Burgundy lovers.
Nicolas had a magical, unending source of energy. His three children, Alphonse, Antonia and Émilien, many loved ones and an extensive network of Burgundians and wine lovers spread around the globe will miss him deeply but remember him always.
Photo by Tim Atkin