PASCAL MARCHAND THROUGH THE EYES OF... BEATRICE BOURELY

Pascal Marchand is a real character and a solid chap to boot. He's half a woodsman half an old sea dog – a true one indeed, as he was once, right after his teenage years, in the merchant navy. He is also undeniably a woodsman, since he comes from Quebec, a country of vast forests, but also because “bois”, the French for “wood”, is the name given to the vine branches pruned in winter – and Pascal is clearly a vine-caring man: he showed his love for Burgundy's vines when he moved here, which was to be expected, considering his love for wine, which, for him, is the vine's first and foremost offspring. How can a wine be good if the grapes used to make it are not? Certainly not by following sheer chemical methods. Wine must reflect the earth that has nourished the vine-stocks. Just like man, wine must not forget its roots! A vine's roots become particularly long and deep if we let them develop naturally. And “Naturally” is the key word. When Pascal first came to Burgundy in the 80s, the vines' soil was still full of chemical products, it gasped for breath and nearly suffocated. He was then part of a young generation of viticulturists who were conscious of the dangers faced by the vineyards and who resolutely adopted organic and biodynamic practices. Many of those pioneers became renowned wine growers. Pascal became the first among them: His Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 96 was designated by The Wine Spectator as the leader among the Top 100 best wines in the world, and Michel Bettane considered it the world reference for Pinot Noir. But this was not to be Pascal's last achievement:
Each year a new wine adventure begins and new improvements are to be considered and made. Pascal is not one to rest on his laurels. Rather, he is curious about everything, thirsting for knowledge, and always ready for new adventures. This France-loving Quebecker is also a world citizen, flying regularly to different wine regions round the planet to share his know-how and to apply and test elsewhere the knowledge he has acquired in Burgundy, based on simple principles: allowing quality and nature to reach their full expression. He uses and lives through a universal language, while never forgetting Burgundy, his home base where he learnt everything...