Domaine Marc Morey

It was Fernand Morey (Marc's father) who, upon returning from the 1st World War in 1919, created Domaine Morey et Fils located in Chassagne Montrachet near Beaune in the department of Côte-d'Or (21). At that time, he took over the operation of 2hectares from his father and moved into part of the current premises: a former coaching inn. He was a visionary because, from the 1930s, he bottled his wines and enlarged the property. In 1944, his son Marc joined him, the domain then took the name of Domaine Fernand Morey et Fils and in 1946, they jointly built the current barrel cellar. Fernand died in 1964, but Marc continued to advance the estate with his wife Madeleine and in 1972 they built a large building on 3 floors: two vaulted cellars, a labelling room, offices and a dining room for the grape pickers.

In 1977, Marc moved his daughter Marie-Josèphe and his son-in-law Bernard Mollard to the estate. The domain then took the name of Domaine Marc Morey et Fils and together they grew the domain and position it on international markets. In 1981, Marc and Madeleine retired while remaining very attached to their domain. In 1997, Bernard created a small trading company: SARL Domaine Marc Morey which bought grape must and aged its wines in an independent cellar on the estate, which allowed them to complete the wine list.

In 2002, the estate grew further with the construction of the storage cellar under the farmyard, it is customary to say that "in this area each generation has built its cellar"; today Bernard is officially retired, yet he is still very present with his wife and daughter Sabine who joined them in 2003. Sabine has been in charge of the viticulture and winemaking with her father’s guidance, since she started working on the estate.

The vines are pruned in simple guyot or cordon de Royat; disbudding is severe for optimum yield, green work is rigorous, leaf stripping of red plots is systematic. The soil is worked throughout the year.
For several years, the domain has entered into a rational control process, the treatments are positioned at the best times and only if they are absolutely necessary. Respect for the environment is an important element to take into consideration.
The vinifications are flexible, adapted to each vintage, the aging on lees lasts 10 months for the white wines and 15 months for the red wines with 25 to 30% new barrels to allow a better expression of the terroirs. The filtrations are gentle and depend on the clarity of the wines.

The estate's wines play on finesse, freshness and minerality, more than opulence.

A note from Alex Dale:
Domaine Marc Morey is one of my incontestable favourite white wine producers in Burgundy (they make 90% white, 10% red). From its so-called ‘lowly’ Rully, to its St. Aubin 1er Cru at altitude, and from across its broad spectrum of Village and Premier Cru vineyards, covering the most famous parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet (plus a top Premier Cru from Puligny-Montrachet), this Domaine makes consistently brilliant and age-worthy white Burgundy. Marc Morey’s Grand-daughter Sabine is the current generation running the Domaine. Splitting her time equally between vineyard and cellar she has taken the wines to a level even her inspirational father Bernard marvels at. Although the Domaine also owns and produces a fabulous Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru, their most iconic wine is the Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru En Virondot. They own 95% of this entire Appellation and produce 100% of it (as their neighbour who owns the bottom edge of the vineyard doesn’t make wine). 2017 is an electric vintage for white Burgundy, full of energy and zest, capable of ageing beautifully. This vineyard lies at the very top western edge of the hillside behind Chassagne, below the tree line and at the same contour level as the marble quarries which surround it. Its roots sinking into the limestone soil and marble beneath, bestowing on this wine the purity and minerality so unique to this village and to great white Burgundy in fact. Nothing in the world tastes like this nor ages with as much grace and vitality, gaining in complexity as it does, well into the decades that shadow it.