Mengshu Du: from China to Burgundy, by way of cats

Mengshu Du: from China to Burgundy, by way of cats

When Mengshu Du arrived in France, she didn’t drink wine. Twelve harvests later she makes wine in Chassagne-Montrachet, in 2026 she bought her first vineyards, and she puts her own cats on the labels. Her wines won’t be sold online: we’re offering them only through a Special Sale, from 16 to 20 November.

From curiosity to craft

When she came to France for a master’s degree, Mengshu Du didn’t drink wine. The turning point came in her second year, the day she understood what it really means for a wine to be “fruity”. From then on wine became a curiosity, then a profession.

On a friend’s advice she moved to Beaune for a year of sommellerie and discovered she had not only the passion but also the palate. Two years of viticulture and oenology followed, with an apprenticeship at Domaine Hubert Lamy in Saint-Aubin, one of the most serious schools for Côte de Beaune whites.

The other side of the counter

Then came years in the fine wine trade and exports: she tasted bottles few people ever taste and met the winegrowers she admires. Meanwhile, from 2015, she spent her holidays at harvests and in the cellar. In 2026 she completed her twelfth consecutive vintage: even while working in the trade, she never stopped getting her hands dirty.

In 2021 she left her job and founded her own company. In 2022 came her first vintage. In 2026 she bought her first vineyards.

Why Mon Chou

The name comes from the pronunciation of her Chinese first name. Almost every French person she meets asks whether she knows what “mon chou” means: an affectionate phrase, like “sweetheart”. She jokes that she has one of the easiest Chinese names for a French person to say and remember. When she started making her own wines, choosing Maison Monchou felt natural.

The cats on the labels are all hers: her favourite animals, always part of her life. For the 2025 vintage she drew on feline figures from the myths and legends of different cultures, giving each cuvée a name and a story.

The wines she wants to make

In her whites she looks for a balance between complexity and fluidity: layers of aroma, but effortless drinking, with a saline, savoury character that brings depth, tension and a long finish. In her reds she is fascinated by the aromatic complexity of whole-cluster fermentation, with aromas that keep changing in the glass: sometimes floral, sometimes spicy, sometimes almost impossible to define.

You can already taste it in An An, a whole-cluster Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Pinot Noir aged in old barrels: a French taster described it as very pale, with a nose of small red fruits, cherry, rose and peony, and a light, fresh palate.

The 2025 vintage

In 2025 all the grapes were bought from organically farmed vineyards and harvested by hand. For Mengshu, grape quality is the starting point: even before owning vines, she wanted to build Maison Monchou’s identity through careful fruit selection and her direct involvement in the cellar. She makes her wine at the shared Les Pépites cuverie in Chassagne-Montrachet, alongside other young winegrowers.

Five cuvées, each named after a feline, plus An An, a 2023 Hautes-Côtes de Beaune, one of her first wines:

Maison Monchou remains a young, independent and very small project, which Mengshu wants to let grow at its own pace.

How to get them

Mengshu’s wines won’t be sold online: it’s her choice, and we respect it. That’s why we’re offering them only through a Special Sale reserved for our list, from Monday 16 November (18:00 for subscribers, 19:00 for everyone) to Friday 20 November at 12:00. The first three orders receive a free bottle of Cuvée Maneki, which can’t be bought.

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