Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils
Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet is making some of the southern Côte de Beaune’s most scintillating wines. Their holdings centre on their home village of St-Aubin, but also include excellent parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, plus a small holding of the grand cru, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Jean-Claude Bachelet sadly passed away in 2019, but the domaine is going from strength to strength under the steerage of his two sons, Benoît and Jean-Baptiste. Where their father sold to négociants, they now bottle themselves, and they are making red and white Burgundy which is balanced, complex and delicious. The brothers’ commitment to the conscientious care of their vineyards and sustainable agriculture is paying dividends as the quality of their wine soars. Their almost 10 hectares are farmed organically and biodynamically while they are working towards certification. Many of their parcels are old vines with some that were planted back in 1927, giving their wines a wonderful intensity and concentration. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Aligoté make up 20 different named parcels across their holdings. Their wines undergo a minimum of 18 months in oak barrels at their new cellars in the small hamlet of Gamay, just outside St-Aubin, imparting a marked oak character when the wines are young, but which integrates seamlessly with age.