Domaine de la Roche Aigue

A study conducted by R. Forgeot on the origin of the Burgundy vineyard, located "in the valley of Auxey one of the first places, otherwise the place, where the vine was planted a first time in Burgundy ... in the IIè century BC ", at the time when Auxey-le-Petit, the cradle of the village, was an important center of druidic worship. On Mount-Melian are the remains of a vast prehistoric enclosure, occupied by the Gauls then the Romans. During the Gallo-Roman period, the village developed and took the name of Alcius.

After the invasions, Auxey knew a new rise under the impulion of the monks of St.Symphorien d'Autun, who built at Petit Auxey a first church, dated 696. It was rebuilt in the 10th century, by the monks of Cluny who possessed in Auxey an important vineyard. Its bell tower and its Romanesque portal are from the 12th century. he also left us the "Moulin aux Moines". The mills were one of the riches of the valley. The hamlet of Melin takes its name. On the site of the feudal castle, destroyed by the Leaguers in 1595, stands today its church St. Martin, whose tufa bell tower is very special. Among his many paintings, we must mention his triptych, a pure jewel of the Renaissance, which recounts the nativity of the Virgin. The present castle belonged to the Marquis of M. AC-Mahon, one of whose descendants became Marshal of France and Duke of Magenta.