A Marchand 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin – sourced from Les Evocelles and neighboring Brochon acreage – leads with high-toned herbal concentrate, tar, resin, salt spray, and chalk dust, though on the palate these become grounded in ripe, fresh black fruits. There is a scrubby, garrigue-like aspect here reminiscent of Lavaux St.-Jacques (and no doubt accentuated by the inclusion of stems in the fermentor); while a mouthwatering salinity helps enliven the wine’s long, lifted finish. This should prove utterly fascinating as well as elegant and versatile over the coming 8-10 years, yet another tribute to the as yet relatively unsung virtues of Les Evocelles and this entire high-elevation sector of Brochon. Quebec-born Burgundy veteran Pascal Marchand (for notes on more of whose handiwork see my report in this issue on the wines of Jean Fery) emerged to prominence as the winemaker at Comte Armand in Pommard (where I met him in his first year, 1985); worked for more than a half dozen years as head oenologist for the Boisset group; and started his own negociant operation in 2006. He works temporarily out of a facility in Nuits-St.-Georges that in his words “is not equipped exactly the way I want,” as a result of which he watches over the early barrel evolution of some of his wines while they still reside in the cellars of their trusted growers, while others are vinified in his facility from purchased fruit, occasionally even picked by a crew he assembles. He is, in short, the prototypical emerging micro-negociant, and if the quality of the 2008s I tasted is indicative of what’s to come, Marchand will soon be even better-known! None of the 2008s I tasted (representing the majority of Marchand’s lots) were due to have been bottled before late May, and most were vinified entirely or majority vendange entier.A Jeanne Marie de Champs Selection (various importers), Domaines et Saveurs, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-25-04-81.
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