The Domaine Marchand Freres has been around for seven generations since 1813, most of that time based 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.
The Domaine Marchand Freres does all those things that great producers do to make great wine. Essentially, no pain is spared in the pursuit of quality. Fieldwork and harvest are manual, yields are kept low on mostly old vines. The harvest is destemmed and the second fermentation takes place in wooden barrels of different ages, depending on the appellation and the vintage. Nothing is systematic; everything has been thought of to respond to the conditions of the year, from harvest to cellar.
The harvest is done by hand. This is a first indication of quality. Hand picking is labour-intensive and less demanding growers will take the shortest route where possible. Hand-picking the harvest allows trained pickers to sort good grapes from the damaged grapes in the field. Hand picking also prevents unnecessary stems and leaves from getting into the crush. The harvest is then completely destemmed again to avoid green tannins from stems and vegetation. Red alcoholic fermentation is in cuve while the whites see some cask fermentation. Malolactic fermentation in wood of different ages, depending on the wine. Very light filtration before bottling.
