Brocard leaves Chablis

Published: 23 July, 2008

Stphane Brocard, son of Jean-Marc Brocard, has left his family's awarded domaine in Chablis to start up his own ngociant business dealing with red Burgundy.

Brocard emphasised there was no scandal or acrimony in him leaving, and that his move was purely to further his own knowledge.

"I want to prove to myself that I can make good wine independently of my family business," he said.

"I will always be a part of JM Brocard, which is known for making excellent wine and I am proud of that. But I didn't just want to be protected in the golden nest of the domaine and not see how the industry works outside of it."

While Brocard will source Mersault, Rully and Bourgogne Chardonnays, the bulk of his business will be Cte de Beaune and Cte de Nuits reds from 10 different appellations - determined to not be in competition with his father. He is currently looking for a UK agent.

Julian Baker, a family friend and JM Brocard's UK agent for 28 years, said it was good for both the family estate and Brocard himself to "plough his own furrow and bridge the gaps in his experience of wine".

Brocard, 35, who was with the Crdit Agricole before joining JM Brocard as business and export manager, said it was possible he would return to the family domaine one day but, until then, he was looking forward to "finding my own path".

His brother Julien is the vineyard manager at JM Brocard and his sister Cline is marketing manager.

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