Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair was founded in 1979 when Jean-Louis Fougeray, the father of the current owners made his very first Marsannay cuvee. If Jean-Louis took the first steps to commercialization, his father (the grandfather of Laurence and her sister Evelyne) was the one who started the current operation (18 hectares): he had worked with the Clair family of the renowned Clair-Daü estate and there was a strong bond of friendship. That bond continued into the next generation with Bernard Clair and Jean Louis Fougeray. In 1986 Bernard Clair was retiring and decided that he would lease some vines to his friend Jean-Louis Fougeray who was by then already exploiting 27 acres, rather than as expected pass them to the next generation of the Clairs. Those were not just any old vines, they included a special parcel of Bonnes-Mares, some Chambolle-Musigny and more Marsannay. In so doing, they grounded the re-named Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair - ‘Beauclair’ coming from a blend of Jean-Louis’ wife’s name and Clair.