Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy

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Gerard Harmand and his son, Philippe, now lead this family-run estate that was established in the late nineteenth century. The domaine encompasses 9 hectares of vineyards, all planted to Pinot Noir and situated exclusively within the boundaries of the village of Gevrey-Chambertin.

The viticulture is traditional to its core: the soil is turned by tractor and by hand, herbicides are not used, all in the cause of permitting the roots to reach deeply in their search for terroir. No chemical fertilizers are applied nor are insecticides used. Debudding is practiced to eliminate undesirable growth, a green harvest is done when necessary, and the harvest is, of course, manual.

The vinification is equally traditional: the grapes are destemmed 100%, there is a cold maceration extending at times to five days, the cuvaison unfolds over a 15 to 21 day period (depending on the “cru” and the vintage) under temperature-controlled conditions; the wine is then racked into barrel where the malolactic fermentation occurs and the wines are aged for approximately 16 months on the fine lees in small oak barrels (a certain percentage of which is new - more new oak for the more important, structured cuvées) before being bottled without filtration.

The domaine recommends that their wines be decanted before service.

Wine Advocate 2/2020
"Philippe Harmand presides over this nine-hectare Gevrey-Chambertin estate, an address that deserves to be better known. I began visiting some years ago, on the advice of Bertrand Dugat, and it was a pleasure to return to taste the domaine's bottled 2017s, as well as a selection of 2018s in barrel. In the vineyards, Harmand plows his soils and uses the bare minimum of chemical products: no herbicides or insecticides, but sometimes anti-mildew treatments at flowering. Adapting to warmer, sunnier conditions, he no longer removes leaves, instead trying to maintain protecting shade for the vines' fruiting zone, though Philippe will perform a green harvest—as in 2017 and 2018—to control yields. In the cuverie, everything is destemmed, and macerations last for a classical two to three weeks. Élevage, with one racking, takes place in barrels from tonnelleries François Frères and Meyrieux for some 16 months. The result are classic expressions of Gevrey, endowed with rich but lively fruit tones and without excesses of either oak or extraction. Their quality—as well as the domaine's trajectory of slow but steady improvement, year after year—makes these wines worthy of serious consideration."