Beaune, Burgundy, France
15 Rue du Château –
21200 Beaune
France
+33 (0)3 80 24 80 24
Find out all about the Bouchard Père & Fils trading house and Domaine, in Burgundy's Côte d'Or region.
Founded in Beaune in 1731 by Michel Bouchard, Maison Bouchard Père & Fils is also one of Burgundy's oldest wine merchants and owner-managers. Its founder, a Dauphinois, was a draper with Flanders.This activity regularly led him to stop off in Burgundy at the homes of hosts who sold him wine in return. But once he arrived in Flanders, many of his customers asked for Burgundy wines. Michel Bouchard, judging the profitability of the wine trade, gradually abandoned his drapery business to devote himself entirely to selling wines from the Beaune vineyards. Bouchard Père & Fils was thus launched.
But what would a trading business be - buying grapes and sourcing them from other estates - without understanding vineyard production and management itself? However, the winegrower status of Maison Bouchard Père & Fils was established in 1775, thanks to the initiative of Joseph Bouchard, who enabled the Burgundy firm to acquire its first vines in the Côtes de Beaune Volnay appellation - a 3.76-hectare plot of Pinot Noir - in the famous Climat des “Caillerets” and “Taillepieds”. This is how the family estate was patiently built up over the centuries, through prestigious acquisitions in the most beautiful villages, to create an exceptional winegrowing estate through 9 generations of winegrowers and merchants. As a result, Bouchard Père & Fils is present on 130 hectares of vines, on the finest Climats in Burgundy, and in 100 appellations, making it one of Burgundy's most priceless and rare winegrowing assets. Meursault Perrières, Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, Bonnes-Mares, Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus (emblem of Maison Bouchard Père & Fils, plots acquired in 1791), etc.
In 1820, the company moved into the beautiful Château de Beaune, overlooking the town's ramparts, following Bertrand Bouchard's purchase of the royal fortress built on the orders of Louis XI in the 15th century. It's a magical place, with its typical polychrome roofs and, above all, its vaulted cellars (dating back to the 15th century) beneath the château, brimming with exceptional bottles that bear witness over the centuries to vintages patiently constructed and matured in conditions like no other. These cellars are located 10 meters underground, with walls 7 meters thick. Bottles age here with serenity and in optimal conditions. And a war chest, so to speak: over 2,000 bottles dating back to the 19th century, with the oldest bottles being a Meursault Charmes from 1846, a Montrachet from 1864, and a Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus from 1865. Enough to make any connoisseur dream.
Over the centuries, the generations developed their international trading activities, while at the same time acquiring new plots of land, thus multiplying their presence in numerous Burgundy Climats. Wines made from the company's own vines are labelled “domaine”, so as not to confuse them with those made from purchased grapes, i.e. from the trading activity.
With 130 hectares, Bouchard Père & Fils covers almost all the Burgundy appellations. It's a rare occurrence to say the least.
1995 marks a major turning point in the history of the famous House. It was no longer Burgundians who presided over the destiny of the famous House, but Champenois from Reims. The Bouchard heirs then collectively sold parcels of the family business to the famous Champagne Maison Henriot, who in return undertook to develop the wine business of Bouchard Père et Fils, while perpetuating the excellence and know-how handed down by generations of Bouchard. The regretful Joseph Henriot went on to make new acquisitions in Meursault, Côtes de Beaune and above all Côtes de Nuits, including the purchase of William Fèvre in Chablis, another great Burgundy domaine. It was also Joseph Henriot who equipped the emblematic House with a new, state-of-the-art winery, totally designed to manage the vinification of its red and white wines, the different Climats it owns and the bottling of 3 million bottles (a colossal figure), 600,000 of which come from the estates it operates itself.
In this historical section, let's not forget to mention the most recent major turning point in the development of the négoce and winegrower business: September 30th, 2022. The group's share capital includes a major new arrival: the Pinault family (billionaire François Pinault), owners of Artémis Domaines (Château Latour, Premier Cru Classé en 1855 in Pauillac in the Bordeaux region, the famous Clos de Tart in Morey-Saint-Denis, Domaine d'Eugénie in Vosne-Romanée). A majority shareholder, Artémis Domaines has joined forces with Henriot (Maisons & Domaines Henriot), while Henriot is a minority shareholder in Bouchard Père & Fils, jointly with Artémis Domaines. This pooling of the respective estates has the merit of protecting such a historic emblem of Burgundy, guaranteeing that the Maison and the estates, thus merged, all remain under the French flag: This is no small detail, given the number of prestigious wineries and châteaux that have gone under foreign ownership, often due to a lack of French investors. Frédéric Engerer (Managing Director of Artémis Domaines) and Gilles de Larouzière Henriot (CEO of Maisons & Domaines Henriot) intend to make this joint management a long-term project, continuing to enrich the history of these prestigious entities and keeping the dream in the bottle alive.
One of the special features of Bouchard Père & Fils is its strong presence in the Beaune appellation. The trading house also has a strong presence in Beaune 1er Cru, where it owns over 70 hectares. With nearly 142 parcels and 130 hectares, Bouchard Père & Fils is one of the largest owners in the Côte d'Or. Annual production amounts to 600,000 bottles. The vinification process remains highly personalized. Precise work is carried out in around a hundred vinification vats. Micro-cuvées are made to reflect the slightest nuances of Pinot noir and Chardonnay.
On the limestone subsoil of the Côte de Beaune, Chardonnay produces the world's greatest white wines, in Grands Crus and Premiers Crus. And these exceptional wines represent just 0.5% of Burgundy's total wine production.
Of Burgundy's eight white Grands Crus, Bouchard Père & Fils produces four. Among them is a prestigious House exclusive in the Chevalier-Montrachet appellation: Chevalier-Montrachet la Cabotte.
Red Grands Crus account for three-quarters of Côte d'Or production, but only 1.5% of total Burgundy wine production. The dark soils of the Côte de Nuits, renowned for the power of Pinot noir, concentrate almost all the red Grands Crus. The only exception is Corton, the only red Grand Cru on the Côte de Beaune.
Bouchard Père & Fils owns monopolies that are the object of meticulous attention, such as Beaune 1er Cru rouge Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus. Among Burgundy's 25 red Grands Crus, Bouchard Père & Fils offers a selection of several climats. These include Bonnes-Mares, Charmes-Chambertin, Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze, Clos Vougeot, Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin and Échezeaux.
The estate, comprising 450 plots for a total of 130 hectares of vines, covers almost all the Burgundy appellations. Bouchard Père & Fils's vineyards are spread out like a mosaic over some fifty kilometers from north to south, protecting them from localized climatic incidents such as hail, thunderstorms or frost. This advantageous set-up does, however, require our teams to be constantly present throughout the estate to ensure an overview. As a result, this group of plots receives special attention all year round. The grapes are hand-picked in small crates to avoid crushing, then scrupulously sorted twice.
Bouchard Père & Fils takes great care to know each terroir, to master each vineyard and to check each bunch of grapes that will make up the great wines that bear the House's hallmark. In 2005, the company invested in the Saint-Vincent winery in Savigny-lès-Beaune, in the pursuit of excellence. More than a hundred different crus are vinified with this high-performance tool. Based on the principle of gravity, it offers wines natural access to 138 maceration vats. Committed to sustainable agriculture since 2002, in 2015 the winery was awarded the “Haute Valeur Environnementale” label. This is the most demanding level of environmental certification for farms.
In this way, the House has created a unique heritage in Burgundy, with its variety and prestigious appellations, including four monopolies and exclusivities: Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus, Bonnes-Mares, Meursault Perrières, and many others.
Dry white : 1959, 1962, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
Red wine : 1947, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
