Grapefruit and lemon dominate the nose and palate of Brocard’s exceedingly bright 2008 Bourgogne Aligote Domaine Sainte Claire, complemented by an oily texture and musky, animal notes. Firm and intense, this displays a sheer juicy exuberance that keeps it from becoming austere, and it should prove delightfully versatile over the next several years. 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

From the Brocard family’s holdings in Saint-Bris (whose wines are bottled under their old estate name) the 2007 Bourgogne Aligote Domaine Sainte Claire is lemony-bright, texturally lean, and borders on being tart. That said, it is ultimately zesty, invigorating, and refreshing, as well as possessed of strikingly persistent salinity and chalkiness and a corresponding sense of sheer stuffing that helps buffer its acids. It should have its excellent uses 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

From old family holdings in Saint-Bris, the 2006 Bourgogne Aligote Domaine Sainte Claire offers surprisingly sweet apricot and persimmon fruit, along with bright lemon and a shimmering sense of saline and crystalline minerality as uncanny as it is hard to further describe. With surprising, leesy textural richness, and striking an excellent balance between substantiality and refreshment, this is (like the corresponding wine of Goisot) another demonstration of how under-rated is this much-derided grape, at least when grown in the proper places and vinified with love. It can be enjoyed over the next 2-3 years. 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