Domaine Bouchard Pere et Fils Volnay 1er ‘Clos du Chenes’ 2020

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Bouchard Père et Fils

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Renowned and respected as one of the finest producers in Burgundy, Bouchard Père et Fils has truly become an institution, known for the exceptional quality of their wines and the diversity of its many vineyards.

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 1820 Bernard Bouchard purchased the Château de Beaune, a former royal fortress built in the 15th century by King Louis XI. Four of the five original towers of the fortress, as well as parts of the ramparts, still stand today, and have featured on the list of historic monuments since 1937.

The cellars run deep underground beneath the property providing ideal natural storage conditions for Bouchard Père & Fils’ fine wines. Up to 10 metres deep, the wines develop and age undisturbed. These include a unique collection of over 2,000 bottles from the 19thcentury. A priceless historical legacy with, as its icon, the oldest wine – a Meursault Charmes 1846 which still retains its luster.

Over time, by acquiring various terroirs with great care and patience, Bouchard Père & Fils has built up the biggest domaine in the Côte d’Or. Today the estate boasts 130 hectares of vines, of which 12 are classed Grand Cru and 74 classed as Premier Cru.

In the Vineyard

The Bouchard estate over 48 km from north to south with a mosaic of 450 different vineyards. The different vineyard parcels receive special care and attention all year round, with each site managed using sustainable viticulture in order to bring out the authenticity and full potential in the wines. To ensure the highest quality, the grapes are harvested by hand, placed in small crates, and then carefully selected on sorting tables.

In the Winery

Located 5 metres below ground level, the vinification vat room fruit and must to be transferred naturally by gravity into the estates 138 maceration tanks or presses. Over 100 different wines are vinified here. They are then matured in oak in a cellar with a 4,000 barrel capacity.

This maturation period allows the purity of the aromas and flavour profile of each terroir to fully express themselves. Dug 10 metres below ground, with no covering other than the earth itself, the barrel cellar provides ideal, natural conditions of ventilation and humidity for the wines to complete their long maturation process.

The 2020 Vintage at Bouchard Père et Fils

Winemaker Frédéric Weber is always a wealth of detail regarding the intricacies of the growing season and regarding the 2020 vintage, he explained that “bud break began super-early, which is to say on the 14th of April, which in all the years that I have been doing this I have never seen before. We did suffer some shatter after the flowering in chardonnay but not really in pinot. The summer was extremely hot and very, very dry and the signs of hydric stress were everywhere, in fact we started to see stem lignification by the end of July! There was, happily, not much disease pressure and véraison, which was disparate, was largely finished in most vineyards by the end of July as well. Remarkably, for the season as a whole, it was fully 1.7° C warmer than the long-term average, with about 200 ml less rainfall than average. While it’s true that the north wind helped keep the nighttime temperatures cool, it had the associated negative effect of constantly drying everything out. Ultimately, we chose to begin picking the pinot on the 19th of August and the chardonnay on the 25th. There was a lot of sorting required to eliminate either wilted or sunburned fruit. There was evidence of the heat stress in the fruit because while there were excellent sugar maturities, and the stems were mostly lignified but the seeds were still mostly green and super-tannic. Between the less than completely ripe seeds and the ultra-thick skins, we vinified quite softly. Moreover, we had to resist the temptation to extract more as many fermentations began almost immediately followed by a 12-to-15-day cuvaison. Yields for the pinot were in the 25 to 28 hl/ha range with a normal number of berries but with lots of shot berries and not much juice in them. This made for very high solid to liquid ratios, which is another reason why we chose to vinify cautiously. Yields were much better for the chardonnay though by no means high as they averaged 38 hl/ha, which is about normal for us. Potential alcohols were actually pretty reasonable considering the high warmth of the season as the pinot came in between 13 and 13.5% while the chardonnay was slightly higher at between 13.5 to 13.7%. The malos finished very early, in fact basically most wines were done by the end of November. Because there wasn’t much potassium in the fruit, the tartaric acid didn’t precipitate so we finished with excellent pHs when it would have been more intuitive to expect higher pHs given the growing season heat. This is to say that the reds averaged about 3.5, though interestingly, the Côte de Nuits was higher at 3.6 while the Côte de Beaune was more in the 3.4 to 3.5 range. To me these numbers are reflective of the fact that the Côte de Beaune suffered more hydric stress than the northern Côte and within the Côte de Beaune, Volnay and Beaune really baked. Moreover, the Côte de Nuits benefited from a bit more rainfall so overall, there was less hydric stress. The whites had classic pHs at between 3.2 and 3.25 and I firmly believe that 2020 is genuinely great vintage in white that reminds me of 2008 or 2014. As to the reds, they are still changing for the better and it’s not an accident that we have bottled very few wines to this point and we very likely won’t start until April and I expect to finish in June.”

Allen Meadows, Burghound

Technical director Frédéric Weber and his team have realized another fine vintage chez Bouchard Père & Fils, beginning harvest on 19 August and sorting to remove dehydrated berries. The vineyards fared well despite a significant hydric deficit, testimony to viticulture that’s among the best of the big houses; indeed, organic conversion is underway, and canopies are now hedged to 1.30 meters, around 30 centimeters higher than the classic low rognage that still predominates along the Côte—forward-thinking innovations that will no doubt find imitators in short order among other big players. In any case, the resulting wines have turned out beautifully, with alcohols in the region of 13% to 13.5% and lower pHs than in 2019. Vibrant, intensely colored and beautifully balanced, there are plenty of cuvées here that I’d be delighted to own. White wines chez Bouchard, readers should note, are bottled under DIAM closures.

William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

Where in the World is Bouchard Père et Fils

Bouchard Père et Fils Domaine is located in the village Beaune, while the winemaking take place at the St Vincent winery in Savigny-lès-Beaune. In the course of the estates long history, it has built a vast portfolio of vineyards and sites. They work with a raft of prestigious appellations: Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, Beaune Grèves Vignes de l’Enfant Jésus, Bonnes-Mares, Meursault Perrières… names that resonate with history, inspiring respect and encouraging the pursuit of excellence, with 4 monopolies and exclusivities among them.