2019 Domaine Marchand Freres Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Genavrières

The Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru, Domaine marchand Frère - Les Genavrieres is of course a 100% Chardonnay coming from a postage stamp parcel. The yield is only 48 Hl/ha but the plot is smaller than 1 HA so only 500 bottles are made annually. Of course, the harvest is manual, with both fermentation and aging taking place in 100% new French oak. Only very light/limited filtration is used. This Morey-Saint Dennis Premier Cru Les Genavrieres has a lot of tension, minerality with roasted and floral notes in the nose and in the aftertaste. A fantastic glass for a Morey-Saint Dennis 1er Cru still relatively very affordable, but with a production of only 500 bottles it is a collector's item.

The Domaine Marchand Freres has been around for seven generations since 1813, and for most of that time it was located in Morey-St. denis. In 1983, however, the domain bought a winemaker's house in the center of Gevrey-Chambertin, ostensibly because of the beautiful working cellars below. But Gevrey gradually became the headquarters of the company and today Denis Marchand lives in the beautifully restored house and receives guests in the cellars below.

The estate has small plots in some very important vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin, including premier cru 'Les Sentiers' in Chambolle, 'Le Clos des Ormes' in Morey and 'Les Combottes' in Gevrey . They also have interests in Grand Cru Clos de la Roche, Griottes-Chambertin and Charmes Chambertin. But the production is small, 1000 cases here, a few hundred there, only dozens in the Grands Crus. Marchand Freres is the Burgundian domain par excellence: small production, high quality.