What seems like an age ago now, Mark and I had the opportunity to join a team of other independent wine merchants on an en-primeur tasting trip in Burgundy.

The days were jam-packed with visits to winemakers all over the Côte de Beaune. We had three long and eventful days of meetings and tastings, with dozens of producers and hundreds of wines to fit into the trip.

I admit that at times the rush of it all made certain moments a bit of a blur.

It’s fair to say we were pretty tired before we had even started out. We had just finished our peak trading season back at the shop before hopping in the car and starting the journey down to Beaune via The Aube in the south of the Champagne region.

Some of the visits have really stuck with me for a host of reasons; one of those was a visit to the property of Catherine & Claude Maréchal.

A Brief Introduction

It was on the 5th of January, 2023 in the small town of Bligny-lès-Beaune, Burgundy, France and penultimate day of the trip when we met Claude.

The Domaine was started in the 1980s with just 4 hectares of vines. The domaine has since acquired an additional 8 hectares and all are within the Côte de Beaune. He is famous for harvesting relatively late in all of his vineyards and he proudly announces this fact as a badge of honour.

Ripeness and purity of fruit is his motto and this invariably translated to the finished product. Riper fruit means lower levels of acidity and to some winemakers this might mean a lack of structure and longevity in the wine. However, by utilising almost 100% whole-bunch fermentation, Claude is able to use the stalks and stems to give his wines backbone.

Quality Over Quantity

Almost all of the wines we tasted at the winery were red. If you were to cut Claude, I’m fairly certain Pinot Noir would come out. He is a master of the variety having learned the winemaking trade from iconic vigneron and Burgundian legend, Henri Jayer. As well as equipping the knowledge and skills of vineyard management and vinification the two winemakers shared a combined view of production: never too much.

Control in all aspects of winemaking is key here. His wines are pure and sleek with vibrant fruit in its youth, as well as a great potential to age. Though sadly only available in very limited quantities.

The 2021 Vintage

The quality was immediately clear when we tasted through the new vintage wines, straight out of the barrel.

The vintage in 2021 was very difficult in Burgundy, every winemaker we met was affected by a late cold-snap which meant a hard frost in April. The resulting destruction led to, on average, about 75% of the crop being lost.

Some growers/winemakers were forced to sell their remaining grapes on the negoce market for cooperative production because they simply didn’t have enough yield to fill a barrel. Luckily Claude’s vines produced enough quantity to continue work and the condition of the grapes that made it through to harvest gave him top notch juice to work with.

The Range

We started with the Bourgogne Rouge ‘Gravel’ where the vines are situated between the villages of Bligny and Pommard, the sub-soil is essentially made up of gravel, hence the name. The larger soils meant good drainage to encourage further ripeness. A medium intensity in colour made the glass glitter in our hands before the tantalising aromas jumped out of it. We knew we had to stock it. The subsequent time since bottling has continued to develop its inherent smoothness. Combined with moderate tannins, it is certainly drinkable when young, though it can be aged for up to a decade and will just get better and better.

Since seeing the generous yet classic style of the wines on show, we have since grown our collection of his wines and you can see the whole range below:

2021 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Volnay | £54.00 per bottle

2021 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Pommard 'La Chanière' | £54.00 per bottle

2021 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Bourgogne Rouge Gravel | £32.00 per bottle

2020 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Bourgogne Rouge ‘Gravel’ | £30.00 per bottle

2019 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Volnay | £54.00 per bottle

2019 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Savigny les Beaune Vieilles Vignes | £40.00 per bottle

2019 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Pommard 'La Chanière' | £50.00 per bottle

2018 Domaine Catherine et Claude Marechal Chorey les Beaune | £35.00 per bottle

2017 Domaine Catherine et Claude Maréchal Chorey les Beaune | £35.00 per bottle

These are Pinots for all year round but a real treat for Christmas. If you are keeping things classic this year I implore you to put a few bottles on the table for your turkey feast. I hope you like these wines as much as I do.

Cheers,
Bill