Mischief & Mayhem Buys Vineyard in Burgundy's Aloxe-Corton

The micro-négociant creates the beginning of a domaine

Bruce Sanderson
Posted: May 9, 2012

Mischief & Mayhem, the boutique négociant founded in 2005, has purchased a small parcel in Aloxe-Corton, its home base. Managing director Michael Ragg confirmed the deal for an undisclosed price. The 1-acre parcel, bought from Domaine Nudant in April, is in the villages lieu-dit Les Caillettes. The Pinot Noir vines are 30 years old and will be cultivated organically by Ragg and his wife, Fiona.

This is a new direction for Mischief & Mayhem, which initially bought bottles of wine from the 2002 and 2003 vintages, then began maturing barrels of purchased wine since the 2004 harvest. The deal includes facilities that M&M will renovate and use to make the wine.

"I believe that the négociant and the domaine business can compliment each other very well," said Ragg. "The négociant operation provides a lot of flexibility for us, but the domaine business will offer new scope in an ever-evolving global market for Burgundy's wines."

The first vintage of the Aloxe-Corton Les Caillettes under the M&M label will be the 2012. Mischief & Mayhem was founded by Michael and Fiona Ragg and longtime friend Michael Twelftree, proprietor of Two Hands Wines in Australia, who remains a shareholder.