Marchand-Grillot

Domaine Marchand-Grillot takes its name from the 1950 marriage that joined two Côte de Nuits families, the Marchands of Morey-Saint-Denis and the Grillots of Gevrey-Chambertin, and the estate has been based in Gevrey ever since. The family counts seven generations in the vineyard. Jacques Marchand heads the domaine; his son Étienne has made the wines since 2009 and his daughter Marion joined in 2015 to run the commercial side. The property covers around nine hectares divided into some fifty parcels across five communes: Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Brochon and Gilly-lès-Cîteaux.

Ruchottes-Chambertin heads the holdings, one of the smallest grands crus of the commune, high on thin limestone above Mazis-Chambertin and a short walk from Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. Two Gevrey-Chambertin premiers crus follow: La Perrière, near the top of the slope in the northern sector of the commune, and Petite Chapelle, further south and directly below the grand cru Chapelle-Chambertin. Below them sit village Gevrey-Chambertin and a group of named lieux-dits, among them Au Vellé, En Songe, En Jouise, Le Créot and Champerrier, the last from vines more than a hundred years old. Morey-Saint-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny come from the neighbouring communes, with Bourgogne, Coteaux Bourguignons and a white Vin de France at the foot of the range.

Synthetic herbicides and pesticides have been off the estate for more than twenty-five years, the soils turned by plough instead, with tractor passes held to fewer than seven a year and replanting done by sélection massale since 2020. Vinification is unhurried: about a week of cold maceration, fermentation on native yeasts, extraction by punching down and pumping over alone, then up to eighteen months in barrels from local coopers. The wines show black cherry and plum, underbrush and liquorice, with firm tannin. Arcana Cabinet lists nine wines from the domaine: Ruchottes-Chambertin grand cru, the Gevrey-Chambertin premiers crus La Perrière and Petite Chapelle, village Gevrey-Chambertin with the lieux-dits Au Vellé and En Songe, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny and Bourgogne Pinot Noir. The range also includes the Gevrey lieux-dits Champerrier, En Jouise and Le Créot.