Scents and flavors of fresh lemon, tangerine, and cherry mingle with chicken and herb stock in a 2008 Bourgogne Jurassique grown on a combination of clay-rich Portlandian and Kimmeridgian soils around Prehy, and once again the most expressive of Brocard’s “trio geologique” bottlings. This displays the sort of juicy, bright exuberance that characterizes this year’s Aligote, and lays down lasting traces of chalk and salt in an invigorating finish that some tasters might admittedly find austere. I would anticipate serving it over the next 2-3 years while its energy and fruit levels are still high. Enologist Nadine Gublin (also of Domaine Jacques Prieur) headed-up the Brocards’ 2008 efforts from start to finish, including a harvest that extended well into October, while Julien Brocard continues to up the percentage of acreage farmed biodynamically at this enormous property. (Tiny lady bugs and moons are scattered discreetly across the labels of those Brocard wines that issue from “bio” vineyards.) Due to time limitations, I did not taste the entire 2008 collection here, but every wine I tasted could be recommended and is included in this report.Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

The 2007 Bourgogne Jurassique – grown on a combination of relatively clay-rich Portlandian and Kimmeridgian soils around Prehy – is this year by far the most ingratiating of what Brocard calls his “trio geologique” bottlings. Bright lime, red currant, and grapefruit laced with salt, chalk, and iodine make for a juicy, invigorating and lip-smacking cuvee whose silkiness of texture helps ameliorate the tendency toward sharpness and severity that were evidence in the vintage’s “Portlandien” bottling in this series. (The lemon and chicken stock-like “Kimmeridgien,” by contrast, was satisfyingly lees-enriched, but a bit awkwardly milky.) This will probably be best enjoyed over the next 18-24 months. Enologist Nadine Gublin (also of Domaine Jacques Prieur) is now heading the team here, although I can’t claim that any change in style was noticeable to me after only one vintage, a vintage that certainly inherently contributed to the less than forthcoming nature of many of these wines, as well as to greater irregularity in quality than those of 2006. I found myself less satisfied with this year’s grand cru bottlings as a group – after being puzzled by how several of the 2006s showed at a comparable stage, too – than I was with those of ostensibly lesser pedigree. A majority of the acreage controlled by Brocard is now being farmed biodynamically, and Julien Brocard suggests he may soon set some sort of record for surface area under such a regimen.Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400

The 2006 Bourgogne Jurassique, grown on a combination of Portlandien and Kimmeridgian soils around Prehy, suggests lime, sweet pea, and cucumber. Refined, clear, light though not at all thin, and offering lip-smacking refreshment, this seems to leave one’s gums coated in chalk and salt. I would plan to enjoy it through next year. Since my visit, Quebecois cellarmaster Patrick Piuze, who arrived here in 2005 from Verget, has been replaced by Nadine Gublin of Domaine Jacques Prieure. A significant portion of the vast Brocard estate is now being farmed biodynamically. Piuze, like many vintners this year, favored racking his young wines off their lees earlier than usual with the intention of avoiding any heaviness. I did not by any means taste all of the enormous range of wines crafted at this address, and including several different labels. Brocard bottled from 2006 the first commercial quantities of three premier cru cuvees under the name “Quintessence,” each representing a broad range of sites that precludes “single vineyard” status. (I place that expression in quotes, since the names of many of the best-known premier crus by law already serve as collective or alternate names for certain nearby crus.) The blends are largely determined as juice, subject to some later fine-tuning.Imported by: Martine’s Wines, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400