Domaine Nicole Lamarche

The Lamarche family has grown vines in Vosne-Romanée since the late eighteenth century, with maternal roots in the village reaching back further still. The modern domaine took shape in the early twentieth century under Henri Lamarche, a cooper by trade, and the estate's defining asset arrived in 1933 when Édouard Lamarche bought the La Grande Rue vineyard at auction and gave it as a wedding gift to his nephew Henri. The estate passed down through the family to François Lamarche, the fifth generation, who took over on his father Henri's death in 1985. François ran the domaine until he stepped back from active management in 2006, and he died in 2013. Throughout, La Grande Rue has been farmed as a monopole, owned outright by the family and never divided.

• Family roots in Vosne-Romanée date to the late 1700s
• Modern domaine built by Henri Lamarche, a cooper, in the early twentieth century
• Édouard Lamarche bought La Grande Rue at auction in 1933 and gave it to his nephew Henri
• François Lamarche (fifth generation) ran the estate from 1985, retired 2006, and died 2013

La Grande Rue is the estate's most celebrated holding, a 1.65-hectare monopole that runs as a narrow strip straight down the slope, never more than about fifty metres wide, between Romanée-Conti and La Romanée to the north and La Tâche and les Gaudichots to the south. It was classified as a Premier Cru for decades before being promoted to Grand Cru by decree in 1992, with the change effective from the 1991 vintage. The site sits at roughly 270 to 300 metres on thin brown limestone (calcaire brun) over the upper slope, deepening to rendzina soils lower down over Bathonian limestone bedrock, a profile that closely mirrors neighbouring La Tâche. The combination of position and soil gives wines of genuine Grand Cru depth that sit stylistically between the power of La Tâche and the perfume of the Romanée vineyards.

• 1.65-hectare monopole running down the slope between Romanée-Conti and La Tâche
• Promoted from Premier Cru to Grand Cru by decree in 1992, effective from the 1991 vintage
• Roughly 270 to 300 metres on thin brown limestone (calcaire brun) and rendzina soils over Bathonian bedrock
• Soil and position mirror neighbouring La Tâche; depth between La Tâche and the Romanée vineyards

Nicole Lamarche, François's daughter, joined the estate in the early 2000s and took sole charge of winemaking from the 2006 vintage, the point from which a clear lift in quality is widely dated. The domaine was formally renamed Domaine Nicole Lamarche from the 2018 vintage to reflect the generational handover. Her cousin Nathalie handled the commercial side until 2021, when she left the estate and took her share of the vines with her; those parcels, including holdings such as Grands Échezeaux, Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts, and La Croix Rameau, joined Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair from the 2022 vintage. Nicole remained at the helm of Domaine Lamarche, which after the split stands at roughly 7.3 hectares, down from about 11.

• Nicole Lamarche took charge of winemaking from the 2006 vintage; quality lift widely dated to this point
• Estate renamed Domaine Nicole Lamarche from the 2018 vintage
• Cousin Nathalie left in 2021; her vines (Grands Échezeaux, Aux Malconsorts, La Croix Rameau and others) joined Comte Liger-Belair from 2022
• Nicole remained at the helm; the estate now stands at roughly 7.3 hectares, down from about 11

After the 2021 restructure the estate keeps its three Grand Crus and a focused set of Premier and village wines. La Grande Rue remains the monopole flagship at 1.65 hectares; the other Grand Crus are Clos de Vougeot (about 0.76 hectares) and Échezeaux (about 1.07 hectares). At Premier Cru level the estate holds Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes and Les Suchots, together with Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cras across the southern commune boundary. Village Vosne-Romanée and regional cuvées round out the range. The parcels that left with Nathalie in 2021, among them Grands Échezeaux, Aux Malconsorts, and La Croix Rameau, are no longer part of the domaine and are now farmed by Comte Liger-Belair.

• Grand Crus: La Grande Rue monopole (1.65 ha), Clos de Vougeot (about 0.76 ha), Échezeaux (about 1.07 ha)
• Premier Crus: Vosne-Romanée Les Chaumes and Les Suchots, plus Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cras
• Village Vosne-Romanée and regional cuvées complete the range
• Grands Échezeaux, Aux Malconsorts, and La Croix Rameau left with Nathalie in 2021 and are no longer domaine holdings

Nicole Lamarche farms the estate organically, a conversion dated to 2010, with hand-harvesting and sorting in both vineyard and cellar. In the winery she favours elegance and freshness over weight: the reds are mostly destemmed, with a portion of whole clusters retained for the Grand Crus in suitable vintages, and new oak is held to a maximum of around 50 percent even for the top wines, a reduction from the heavier oak of the estate's earlier era. The wines are bottled at the domaine with minimal fining and filtration. The result is a clean, terroir-led house style that lets each site speak, a clear contrast with the more extracted profile the estate showed before Nicole took charge.

• Organic farming since 2010; hand-harvesting with sorting in vineyard and cellar
• Reds mostly destemmed, with some whole clusters for the Grand Crus in suitable vintages
• New oak held to a maximum of around 50 percent for the top wines, down from the estate's earlier era
• Bottled at the domaine with minimal fining and filtration; clean, terroir-led style