Domaine Bouchard Grand Cru ‘Chambertin-Clos des Bèze’ 2017

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Bouchard

Founded in 1731,  Bouchard Père et Fils has built up an estate of 130ha and, collectively, is the largest owner of Grand Crus (12ha) and Premier Crus (74ha) across the Côte d’Or Bouchard Père et Fils represents almost one hundred ‘climats’ or uniquely diverse vineyards, including prestigious monopoles such as ‘Beaune Grèves Vigne de l’Enfant Jésus’ and ‘Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte’.

In the Vineyard

The estate’s configuration, extending as it does over 48 km from north to south with a mosaic of 450 different vineyards, protects Bouchard Père & Fils from localised weather events such as hail, storms or frost. However, this does entail having to have teams on the ground throughout the vineyards.

The multitude of vineyard parcels receives special care and attention all year round. Every Bouchard Père & Fils vineyard has been managed using sustainable viticulture for many years in order to bring out the authenticity and full potential of the wines. Bouchard Père & Fils’ constant attention to detail also continues at harvest time when the grapes are harvested by hand, placed in small crates, and then carefully selected on sorting tables.

In the Winery

The very ripe Pinot Noir grapes from Côte de Beaune were harvested from 4 September onwards, whereas we had to wait until 11 September for Côte de Nuits, and even later for Gevrey and the Grands Crus. That choice was rewarded by very good levels of maturity, excellent natural alcohol content of between 13° and 14°, skins that were thin yet firm, very ripe pips, and fine tannins. The stalks were well lignified at the base, so we decided to increase the proportion of full harvests: 15 to 20% in Côte de Beaune, and 25 to 40% in Côte de Nuits, in order to provide a little aromatic freshness to compensate for the yield’s high level of maturity. After 4 to 5 days of cold maceration, vinification continued with a vatting period of 12 to 20 days, with cap-punching being done at the end of the vatting and in a parsimonious manner to avoid too high a level of extraction. Finally, malolactic fermentation was swift, all of it being completed by the end of March.

The 2017 Vintage

After a harsh winter, which was nevertheless beneficial for working the soil, spring was warm and sunny – with the exception of a few days at the end of April. Bathed in such warm sunshine, the vegetation developed and burst into bud earlier than usual. Flowering was swift, but suffered from slight coulure (poor fruitset) due to some rainfall. Summer was very mixed: the heat wave and water stress alternated with some cooler temperatures associated with stormy showers. The plant’s physiology was able to recover in such conditions and reached optimum ripeness. Harvesting began on 4 September and lasted a fortnight in autumnal weather. It paved the way to extremely healthy grapes and a yield that was at last almost normal. The red wines are rich, delicate, balanced and silky. The whites are wonderfully mature, their terroir defined with exquisite precision.

Read Bouchard’s full technical vintage report.

Where in the World is Chambertin-Clos de Bèze?

Bouchard has vineyards and sources fruit from across the entire Côte. Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is one of the exception suite of Grand Cru’s from the Village of Gevrey-Chambertin.