Domaine Marc Morey,
3, rue Charles Paquelin,
21190 Chassagne-Montrachet
France

Owner: M. and Mme Mollard and Sabine Mollard
Winemaker: Bernard and Sabine Mollard

Background

Domaine Marc Morey was founded in 1919 by Marc´s father Fernand and is currently run by his daughter Marie-Jo, son-in-law Bernard Mollard and their daughter Sabine (incidentally, Marie-Jo is the sister of Michel Morey of Morey-Coffinet). Today they farm nearly 10ha, a substantial increase on the 2ha which Fernand took over from his father on returning from the First World War. He set up his cellar in what was during the 19th century a coaching inn and is today still the home of the estate. The first two decades were spent grappling with the problem of phylloxera and organizing the cellar. He bottled his first wine just before the outbreak of the Second World War and set about increasing his land holdings. His son, Marc, joined him in 1944 continuing to enlarge the estate and the cellars after his father´s death. It was with the arrival of Bernard Mollard in 1977 that the name was changed to “Marc Morey et Fils” (“Marc Morey et Gendre” obviously does not have quite the same ring). Today Bernard looks after the various importers and keeps an eye on stocks, whilst his daughter Sabine divides her time between making the wine and selling it.

The vineyards are now run along lutte raisonnée lines. This is a term much bandied around in recent years which often means nothing, but in this case has led to a dramatic decrease in the amount of treatments used in the vineyards. Working closely with the Chambre d´Agriculture and other growers in the village, the Moreys reason every treatment and focus their attention on treating at the right time to ensure maximum effect. The result is a significant reduction in the amount of insecticides used and a halving of the number of anti-oidium and mildew treatments. Methods used to control weeds are, in Sabine´s words, en evolution. Currently grass-cover is not on the agenda – weed-killers are used at the beginning of the season; thereafter the land is ploughed – but this may change. Another area which has seen change is that of fertilisation. Quantities have been significantly reduced, which in turn has led to a reduction in vigour and subsequently better balanced vines. The move has also been towards leaf-contact fertilisers which are by their nature more precise.

Otherwise the work of the vineyard is as one might expect. Severe de-budding is preferred to green harvesting and leaf-plucking is carried out in the red vineyards to improve aeration and aid maturation. This is of particular interest in a vineyard such as Morgeot where the soil is heavier and more humid and hence the risk of rot is greater. At harvest time everything is picked by hand and the grapes are systematically sorted at the cellar.

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Vineyard Holdings

Commune	level*	lieu dit /Climat		wines made	Area (ha)	Vine age	Status*
Chassagne	R	Les Plantes Longues		W	0.76	35	O
	R	Grands Champs	]	W	0.57	12	O
	R	Haut des Champs	]	W
	V	Les Pierres	]	W	0.21	15	O
	V	Blanchots Dessous	]	W
	PC	Les Chenevottes		W	1.16	35	O
	PC	Les Vergers		W	0.96	38	O
	PC	En Virondot		W	2.02	32	O
	PC	Les Caillerets		W	0.20	17	O
	PC	Morgeot		W	0.24	45	O
	GC	Bâtard Montrachet		W	0.14	55	O
	V	Les Lombards	]	R
	V	Les Corvées	]	R	1.10	35	O
	V	Les Benoîtes	]	R
	PC	Morgeot		R	0.38	45	O
St. Aubin	PC	Les Charmois		W	0.78	20	O
Puligny	PC	Les Pucelles		W	0.20	10	O
Beaune	V	Les Paules		R	0.51	45	O
		Total Ha			9.23

Key

R/W= Red or White wines made in this lieu dit / climat
R	= Regional appellation	O	= Owner
V	= Village	SC	= Share cropper
PC	= Premier Cru	TF	= Tenant farmer
GC	= Grand Cru