Haut de Gamme Offers

Domaine Marchand-Grillot Grand,1er Cru and Villages 2023-2024

Seventh generation winemaker Etienne Marchand brings his extensive experience to produce wines red wines of character. Etienne studied at the Lycée Viticole at Macon-Davayé, followed by a BTS in Wine Commerce at Thecoma in Paris, and gained hands-on experience with winemakers in Oregon. His influence has given the estate new enthusiasm, adding modern working techniques aimed at greater sustainability. And with a little advice from his father, Jacques, their collective knowledge is propelling the domaine to new heights! But what does this mean in practical terms for you?

Well, Gevrey-Chambertin, the northernmost Burgundian village producing Grand and Premier Cru red wines, is famously known for delivering very powerful, deep expressions of Old-World Pinot Noir. This domaine is located right in the town, but the family's eye is set towards more modern, more approachable wines made from those same, otherwise powerful vineyards. This effort results in wines of depth but also of nice acidity, which effectively cuts through the heaviness and affords pleasant early-drinking experiences. Naturally, if the wines are permitted some time to age, a subtler, more complex flavor emerges.

In this bundle, Domaine Marchand-Grillot brings you a diverse and exciting set of Gevrey-Chambertin and Morey-Saint-Denis wines from their most recent (and very tiny yielding) 2024 vintage. Why exciting? Because in addition to a range of Premier Cru and Village wines, for the first time, the domaine has shared a small volume of their most prized wine, the Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru! Ruchottes‑Chambertin is a small Grand Cru with fewer than 10 growers, many of whom are quite famous (e.g. Rousseau, Roumier, Mugneret-Gibourg), so Marchand-Grillot is a rare source and an even rarer one for a rational price point. Ruchottes is the highest-elevation Grand Cru of Gevrey-Chambertin, and its vines grow in very thin, rocky soils. This combination forces deep root systems leading to wines known for precision, intense minerality, and a lighter, more fragrant style compared to other Gevrey-Chambertin Grands. This is a Grand Cru favoring finesse over power.

Beyond the Ruchottes-Chambertin, Etienne presents his Premier Cru Petite-Chapelle. This vineyard, located adjacent to Chappelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, is always a favorite of ours, and the 2024 version offers some depth and complexity, but owing to the vintage, is fruit-forward and approachable young. With considerable holdings in of Villages-level wines in Gevrey-Chambertin, Etienne often offers many different single-vineyard wines. But in 2024, the vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin were almost completely wiped out by rain and mildew. To accommodate, the domaine decided to blend several of the miniscule yields into a single Village Gevrey-Chambertin, which itself benefits from the concentration created by vines which had very few viable grapes into which they poured their efforts. One single vineyard, Etienne's Clos de la Cabotte, produced enough juice to be bottled on its own, and this wine is also included in the lot. Conditions in Morey-Saint-Denis in 2024 were a touch better, so Etienne decided to offer you a bottle of the 2024 alongside a bottle of the 2023, giving insight into the differences that can be created from one vintage to the next (2023 was a bountiful, sunny vintage - a stark comparison indeed). The Moreys will be just slightly lighter but perhaps less fragrant than the Gevreys.

Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Grand and Premier Cru Whites 2024

The mother/daughters team at Dubreuil-Fontaine has been producing fantastic wines, but only a small quantity of them are Chardonnay-based. 2024 was undeniably a difficult vintage to be a grape grower in Burgundy. Rain, rain and then some more rain. But the sun shined brightly before harvest in August, and the incredibly small yields were blessed with ripeness and concentration, particular the whites. Indeed, Neal Martin of Vinous wrote earlier this year (in describing the benefits of that August sunshine), "It imbued many Chardonnays with razor-sharp tension and delineation that will attract admirers." Despite the difficult conditions Mother Nature delivered, Christine, Clémentine and Hortense produced wines which delighted professional critics and us. It's fair to say we at BurgDirect feel honored to be able to continue to bring you this domaine's best wines (albeit with very tight allocations!).

Dubreuil-Fontaine is located just below the Hill of Corton in the tiny village of Pernand-Vergelesses, so naturally they own enviable 1er cru vineyards there. This lot includes bottles from the four-acre Clos Berthet, owned and farmed exclusively by Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine (a monopole), a vineyard which produces wines with apple and citrus notes, along with lovely minerality and floral aromas. Neighboring Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Vergelesses is a wine that is similar to the Clos Berthet, but with a bit more weight and is less citrusy (note: yes, the names can be confusing and repetitive - this one owes its vineyard name to its communal boundary with a Premier Cru vineyard in Pernand-Vergelesses itself). Finally, the best for last, two bottles of the domaine's best white, the famous Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, are also included.

Domaine Boursot Premier Cru & Village Reds 2023

Romuald Boursot carefully tends to his relatively tiny holdings of wonderful red wines from the family's vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny as well as other nearby plots. Boursot is a red wine specialist, and Chambolle-Musigny is right in the center of the Côte de Nuits, home of the world's top Pinot Noirs. As this domaine hasn't presented their wines through BurgDirect for several years, Romauld and his brother Romaric felt it would be best to introduce BurgDirect's customers to the house style by first offering a wide set of their village wines, most from old vines or single vineyards, along with a couple of Premier Crus That sounded great to us! Chambolle-Musigny itself is known for growing grapes that produce wines which are powerful, yet refined and perfumed, and sometimes "velvety" (in this respect, it is quite similar to the reputation Volnay enjoys in the Côte de Beaune). In this bundle, Boursot has included two of their Premier Cru Chambolles, one each for Les Chatelots and Les Fuées. Les Fuées is a very highly regarded mid-slope vineyard adjacent to the (very expensive) Grand Cru, Bonnes-Mares, producing wines that are savory rather than fruity. Adding yet more depth to this wine, the fruit is grown on very old vines (averaging 75 years). Les Chatelots, right smack in the middle of Chambolle, is known for producing wines that are more supple and elegant. 

Among the Village-designated wines, the Chambolle-Musigny is a blend of small plots at both the top and bottom of the hill, providing this wine with concentration and fragrance. The Vosne-Romanée combines low yield with old vines, naturally creating a wine that's quite concentrated, yet the vintage characteristic of forward-fruit shines through. Gevrey-Chambertin typically produces one of the darkest, most powerful wines in the Côte de Nuits, and this example is no different in that this is no subtle expression of Pinot Noir. Finally, the Nuits-Saint-Georges is somewhat lighter than the rest but no slouch, offering a smooth complement to a hearty meal.

Reviews from Bill Nanson (Burgundy Report) for each specific wine offered here are available below. Please note: The Burgundy Report does not give reviewed wines a score, only a narrative.