Bouchard Pere et Fils

East-facing below the Charlemagne holding, this was one of the last wines to be picked. Intense purple in colour, this displays a fresh nose – clear cut and mineral. It is very intense but not too muscular, good with grape tannins and fresh hillside acidity. Very persistent.

Frédéric Weber has taken over prime winemaking responsibilities from Philippe Prost. He shares with his predecessor the ability to talk eloquently about his wines, with an excellent knowledge of each terroir. One change here is the increasing use of whole bunches during fermentation, though more in the Côte de Nuits than Côte de Beaune this year. Overall, these are excellent wines.

Rich, imperial purple with a huge, generous nose, this is exciting. A vast bundle of ripe dark fruit, some plums, some cherries, really very stylish indeed, and excellent length.  Very good weight, still lively and very long. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The 2013 grapes were picked between 30th September and 11th October. The white skins were fragile so pressing was very gentle, the reds more robust and capable of a good proportion of whole bunch fermentation. Most wines are now in tank with bottling a little earlier than usual. An exceptional range of reds in particular from Bouchard this year.

At this early stage the oak is more evident than for the straight Chevalier-Montrachet, perhaps hiding the fruit a touch on the nose. However, in the mouth the fruit shows incredible weight and energy, with opulent peaches and nectarines, all in a coating of expensive wood. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The 2013 grapes were picked between 30th September and 11th October. The white skins were fragile so pressing was very gentle, the reds more robust and capable of a good proportion of whole bunch fermentation. Most wines are now in tank with bottling a little earlier than usual. An exceptional range of reds in particular from Bouchard this year.

Excellent, clear and bright, there is very little nose at this early stage but sublime fruit on the palate, with a mineral core and exceptional persistence. It offers intensity rather than weight, with maybe a little pear and white peach fruit leading to a fabulous finish. Grand vin.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

In response to the very small concentrated berries which characterise the fruit in 2012, Philippe Prost, head winemaker, has opted for more whole bunch fermentation this year, up to 25% per cuvée. The wines are exceptionally intense, so a little leavening by the inclusion of some stems makes sense. The white wines are bursting with energy, clearly amongst the successes of the vintage.

The 2013 Le Montrachet Grand Cru has a very reserved bouquet, a light marine influence coming through with aeration of shucked oyster shells and a smidgen of orange rind. The palate is fresh and crisp, compact, more austere than the two Chevaliers at the moment, with very laconic, tight-lipped finish compared to others that I have tasted. Let’s see...this is giving away zilch at the moment! 
Neal Martin - Wine Advocate - eRobertParker.com - Dec 2014

Le Montrachet is elegant and refined aromatically with complexity to the gorgeous and highly nuanced nose of dried flowers, spice elements and a broad range of both white and yellow orchard fruit scents.

There is superb volume and richness to the big-bodied and very serious flavors that are overtly muscular and also blessed with an abundance of dry extract that, in the same fashion as the Corton-Charlemagne, imparts a borderline chewy quality to the faultlessly balanced finish. What I find interesting about this wine is that it is at once openly decadent and opulent yet it remains beautifully refined. Whatever the magic, the key point is that this is most impressive.
95/100 Allen Meadows, burghound.com

Although not a domaine wine, this is harvested from the same 1ha plot each year. It offers a pretty, medium-deep purple colour, with an attractive but discreet nose. It begins delicately, then opens out to a significant volume of fruit, with just a touch of pepper behind. This is graceful yet intense with amazing persistence. Excellent.

Frédéric Weber has taken over prime winemaking responsibilities from Philippe Prost. He shares with his predecessor the ability to talk eloquently about his wines, with an excellent knowledge of each terroir. One change here is the increasing use of whole bunches during fermentation, though more in the Côte de Nuits than Côte de Beaune this year. Overall, these are excellent wines.

The bouquet of this splendid Chambertin Clos de Bze from Bouchard suggests new wood, magical perfume, deep rich plums and ultra opulence, yet on the palate it is seamless with energy right through to the back. It has an amazing intensity and endless length. This may be glorious to drink even in its youth though it should equally live to a ripe old age.

Clean, bright and fresh in all departments, this Corton-Charlemagne from Bouchard is positively linear after the broad-based Meursaults but it has the typical 2009 quality of a fine rich finish, and sensational length.

This La Cabotte is the very special sub-section of Chevalier, continuing the rows of Bouchards Le Montrachet. It is fairly restrained compared to the regular Chevalier, but with unbelievable intensity on the palate and a line of steel that runs through the middle. The fruit flavours are yet to emerge in detail but it is precise and chiselled, yet in glorious volume.

From three separate plots covering different parts of the Perrires vineyard. There is a touch of honey alongside some apple compte notes, while the wine in the mouth starts full and fleshy but finishes on lively minerals. Complete and complex.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Philippe Prost, long-time winemaker at Bouchard Pre & Fils, is less flamboyant than his veteran opposite number at Jadot, but he still has firm opinions and he knows the detail of all his vineyard sites inside out. He clearly prefers his 2010 whites to the previous vintage, though we rather liked those too, while the fresh finish of the vintage has brought his excellent 2010 reds to life.

Spicy, exuberant flavours with nice purity and sweet spices in the persistent finish. A very well made Clos de Beze that focuses on intense fruit and vibrant flavours. The finish has a salty minerality. Only 300 cases produced in 2012.
Jeannie Cho Lee - Master of Wine

Quite heavily hailed so a quarter of the already small crop was declassified. Superb concentrated colour here, real life and energy. Very intense, ultra succulent dark plum and blackberry, a huge wave of succulent fruit covering the structure. They have managed the tannins very well.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

In response to the very small concentrated berries which characterise the fruit in 2012, Philippe Prost, head winemaker, has opted for more whole bunch fermentation this year, up to 25% per cuve. The wines are exceptionally intense, so a little leavening by the inclusion of some stems makes sense. The white wines are bursting with energy, clearly amongst the successes of the vintage.

This is the outstanding wine from the appellation of Beaune, made from a great site with a good proportion of 55-year-old vines. It has a beautiful, deep mid-red colour, and a very poised nose of concentrated – but not unduly powerful – fruit. Quite weighty in a good way, with plum and blueberry fruit, well-judged tannins and excellent length.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

In response to the very small concentrated berries which characterise the fruit in 2012, Philippe Prost, head winemaker, has opted for more whole bunch fermentation this year, up to 25% per cuvée. The wines are exceptionally intense, so a little leavening by the inclusion of some stems makes sense. The white wines are bursting with energy, clearly amongst the successes of the vintage.

A pale, straw colour again, there is huge weight on the nose but not much detail. It has a fabulous degree of density over and above the regular Chevalier-Montrachet bottling. Perfectly balanced, how have they done this? A really heavenly wine with extraordinary density. Drink 2020-2030.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Picking began on 3rd September, not before, as the whites were not phenologically ripe earlier, and the acidity was stable. For the reds many more whole bunches have been used this vintage, given that the grapes were perfectly ripe. The reds are every bit the standard you would expect, but we were completely bowled over by the brilliance of the white wines here this year.

Rich purple with some blacker tints, some glossy new oak shows, although only 40 percent was used. This has the same sense of inky luxury which pervades the Bouchard reds this year, but is underpinned by a long thread of classy, stylish fruit. With superb length, this is really very chic. Drink 2026-2040.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Picking began on 3rd September, not before, as the whites were not phenologically ripe earlier, and the acidity was stable. For the reds many more whole bunches have been used this vintage, given that the grapes were perfectly ripe. The reds are every bit the standard you would expect, but we were completely bowled over by the brilliance of the white wines here this year.

Production was at 23hl/ha, yielding only 10 barrels, which is half the usual amount. These aren’t Bouchard’s vines, but the grower is clearly dedicated and produces great fruit, following some selected biodynamic principles. It’s very expressive and pleasurable and, although the house style is to offer a luxurious experience, there is no shortage of complexity here either. Drink 2026-2040.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Bouchard Père & Fils can trace its origins back to 1731 though it is no longer family- owned. In 1995 Champagne entrepreneur, Joseph Henriot, acquired the company. The wines are made by technical director Frédéric Weber in succession to Philippe Prost. An impressive gravity-flow winery on the Route de Savigny, the Cuverie St Vincent, was completed in 2005, enabling them to process all their wines with optimum efficiency. Bouchard’s total holdings comprise 130 hectares, including 12 hectares of Grand Cru and 74 hectares of Premier Cru, which makes them the largest vineyard owners in the Côte d’Or. Philippe Prost had an individual take on the vintage. His view is that the high levels of rainfall at the start of the year (themselves contributory to the frost damage) saturated the soil to such a degree that high levels of minerals were unlocked and subsequently taken up by the vines. It is useful to get the view of a producer who covers the whole region. He also observed that there were much smaller berries in the Côte de Beaune than the Côte de Nuits and that, on the whole, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were picked at almost the same time. He also offered a thought on bâtonnage: Bouchard prefers to roll their barrels to move the lees, and not to open the bung and stir. This preserves the CO2 in the wine which means less SO2 is necessary.

It takes time to dig out all the flavours in this exceptional wine. It is a blockbuster, with notes of gingerbread and orange blossom adding an exotic quality to the dense mass of classical fruit. Extraordinarily intense, this will be terrific if you can wait a few years; be patient and you will be rewarded.