CLOSERIE DES ALISIERS
Bourgogne, France
Stephane Brocard is the son of Jean-Marc Brocard of Chablis fame. Stephane struck out on his own, moving south to the Cote d’Or, and starting his own negociant business.
These days the ‘négoce’ is not a sexy face for Burgundy, but it remains a vital part of the wine life. The larger firms operate like small banks and big brands, with well-honed marketing and export machines. As a whole the negoce handles 75% of all Burgundies sold, and owns some 2000 hectares – 60% on the Cote d’Or.
However the modern small négoce has more in common with the grower-negoce model that bloomed in the 90s and 2000s (think Dujac, Deux Montilles etc.). There is a nimble intelligence at work, and a discriminating, not procrustean, taste. We like Stephane’s taste a lot, and we think his wines offer some of the best value to be had.
In Stephane's own words...
“Coming from Chablis, I thought I knew the Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune well, through tastings and meeting its winegrowers. I now realize that the Cotes are a bit like a tree: when you look straight ahead of you, you see the trunk, it’s simple, but as soon as you raise your head, you are hit by the complexity of the ramifications between the families and the terroirs, each interlinked by the other. Chablis is different, it’s a single appellation. I was also surprised by the number of young winegrowers who want to go further in their work on the vine; I actually work mainly with winegrowers who are aged between 25 and 35, who often carry out years of studies who, dare I say it, “think a lot”. I work with around thirty of these Domaines, with whom I share the same philosophy, but what doesn’t change is my taste for the Chablisien; I was brought up with straight, pure, mineral wines, which are far from dull, and I’m still always looking for true wines, which emphasize the terroir before the grape variety “
Wines
Closerie des Alisiers Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Closerie des Alisiers Marsannay Vieilles Vignes
Closerie des Alisiers Pommard ‘Rue au Port’