La Boudriotte

From the Les Chaumes sub-section of Boudriotte, this was affected more by the frost and, as a result, is somewhat angular and blocky at present. There is an austerity and the oak needs a little more time to integrate, but there is latent energy and power here which suggests a promising future. Drink 2020-2025.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Caroline Lestimé took over from her father, Jean-Noël Gagnard (b. 1926) in 1989, since which time she has fine-tuned the holdings, increasing the number of white wine cuvées by separating out each different vineyard. She has also planted new sites in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune to complement her range of Chassagne-Montrachet (including nine white and two red Premiers Crus) and Grand Cru Bâtard-Montrachet. Chassagne was badly hit by the spring frosts, especially in the vineyards above the village and towards Puligny. Nevertheless, this is an impressive result for Caroline and she was in ebullient form, despite the relative emptiness of her cellar, perhaps after the fecund volumes of 2017, just harvested. There is an amplitude about her wines this year, which matches the freshness of the vintage very well. Sadly, there is no Masures this year due to frost.

The bouquet shows a faint touch of wood but there is a lovely classy wine here. It offers beautiful white fruit, with an elegant satin texture, pure and long. This Boudriotte really kicks on across the second half of the palate.

Benoît and Jean-Baptiste Bachelet have made a great range of wines in 2014, though unfortunately they had another short-ish crop, similar to 2013 but lower in red. They adore the excellent fruit/acid balance, and the ripe fruit flavours without high alcohol levels. The wines will stay in barrel until the spring and will not be bottled until late July 2016.

La Boudriotte is solid and weighty; a more muscular style of wine. There is real, steely concentration on the palate, with weight and distinction. This cuvée offers a nice marriage of fruit and oak.

The 2014 vintage is their first to be certified organic by Ecocert, which will appear on the label. Sadly it is another small crop, no bigger than 2013. While Caroline Lestimé was, as usual, self-deprecating with regards to her wines, we can tell you that they are absolutely stunning this year. We cannot remember a better vintage in her cellar.

Bright and pale in colour, this has a lively bouquet with some fresh verbena, and white fruit. There is elegance at the front, a bit more weight behind and ripe apple notes, all in good balance. It demonstrates a softer texture on the finish, which is certainly very long. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

With the move to superb new cellars in the hamlet of Gamay, next to St Aubin, Benoît and Jean-Baptiste Bachelet have taken over from their father Jean-Claude, though he may still be seen with his wartime vintage truck ferrying the grapes at harvest time. The basic principles of a long slow barrelageing for almost two years remain in force, while the state-of-the-art winery has improved consistency. In the vineyard, the brothers have been experimenting with biodynamic viticulture and have plans to extend this across their holdings which are in St Aubin, Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. With vineyards mostly located in St Aubin and Chassagne-Montrachet, the Bachelet brothers – Benoît and Jean-Baptiste – had a torrid time in 2016 thanks to the frost, losing 75 percent of their crop. Despite the terrible spring weather and resultant disease pressure, they stuck to their biodynamic methods. The crop was so small, in fact, that they had to fill 44 unused barrels with water and sulphur dioxide to keep them fresh until they get another decent crop. There is no Chatenière in 2016 and many of the other cuvées are very small indeed.

Located in the lower part of Morgeot on heavier clay soils, this is a rich, brawny and muscular expression of Chassagne which has dense apricot fruit, citrusrind acidity and plenty of dry extract which hints at a promising future. Drink 2023-2030.


After the catastrophically small vintage last year, Caroline is much happier with the good – but in no sense excessive – crop of 2017. Indeed, her organic viticulture methods and old-vine holdings mean that yields are a long way below the permitted maximum. Caroline is pleased with the ripe fruit profile of the wines, highlighting the velour, density and volume as key attributes, but taking care to explain that they are not heavy. These are exciting wines, which will be hedonistic in youth but the abundance of dry extract points to huge ageing potential.

From the lower swathe of Chassagne’s Premiers Crus, Boudriotte is on the line of deep red soil which also contains a bit more clay. The wine is quite floral and reflects the vintage with its precision. It’s a credit to the Bachelet brothers for capturing such charm. Drink 2023-2030.


Despite the localised frosts in 2017, Bachelets yields this year are similar to 2015 and close to the average of recent years. Benot and Jean-Baptiste began the harvest on 30th August with the warmer sites of En Remilly, Blanchot Dessus and Bienvenues, and finished on 8th September in the lower-lying Derrire la Tour. Benot commented on how clean and healthy the fruit was this year; there was a little bit of mildew in the spring, but otherwise the year was problem-free. An honest, precise vintage, inhis view.