Chablis. Jean-Marc Brocard
Not far from Chablis you will find a tiny village called Prehy, where next to the XV century Saint Clair church you can find Jean-Marc Brocard winery famous for white wines made from chardonnay grapes. Winery produces Chablis wine from 4 appellations: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Premier Cru and Grand Cru.
Jean-Marc Brocard learned how to produce wine from his father in law Emile Petit and distant relative P’tit Louis. His first vintage was in 1973, coming from a parcel which was as tiny as 1 acre. This parcel he received together with his wife as a gift. Currently the vineyard has around 200 acres, either privately owned or contracted, including some of the best and oldest parcels in Chablis. This translates to wonderful wines that are fresh, mineral and very good at showing the uniqueness of the terroir. Vineyards are planted on the soils from Kimmeridgian period which consists of chalk, limestone and fossilized oyster shells.
Wines labelled Jean-Marc Brocard are well known in France and all over the world. The wines are exported to more than 50 countries worldwide. Currently Jean-Marc is passing over the management of the company into the hands of his son – Julien. Julien believes in biodynamic and organic farming of the vineyards according to the moon phases. He produces his own wines with an orange label and uses wax to seal the bottles. While visiting the winery you can taste the same wines from the same vintage produced by the father and the son.
Psst: Best way to get to the winery is with an electric scooter or e-bike rented with E-Bike wine tours in Chablis. Also it is a great opportunity to take advantage of the lovely surroundings and carry on visiting the wine hills. While renting you can choose the route length and duration. They will provide you with an GPS which will help you out to navigate properly.
Tasting: You can try both wines from Jean-Marc and Julien. The winery is open between 9:30 and 18:30. It is worth making a reservation in advance to get a small tour. Sebastien is a great host, and the tasting is free of charge.
Worth trying: Basic Chablis from Jean-Marc is a great choice considering price to quality ratio. It is worth trying the very fresh Premier Crus and amazing Grand Crus Bougros and Grenouilles.
