This Bourgogne Blanc comes from some seriously impressive terroir: 1.3 hectares of 20- to 50-year-old vines in the Puligny area (spread across four parcels) and a plot of young-vine Chassagne on chalky soil. These source vineyards—combined with the quality of the viticulture, harvest date and confident, hands-off winemaking—give one of the best value white Burgundies in our portfolio. As always, a no-brainer.

La Fussière is the largest climat of Maranges (at the very south of the Côte de Beaune, next to Santenay), covering an area of almost 35 hectares. It faces south, directly towards the start of the Côte Chalonnaise, on a slope between 290 and 400 metres. Alongside a cracking red from these marly, crinoidal limestone soils, Bachelet-Monnot has long crafted an exceptionally pure and taut white Burgundy from a small parcel of 40-year-old vines occupying the vineyard's highest reaches. This site lost almost 70% of its crop due to the frost this year. Raised with 20% new oak, it’s a beautifully pitched, chalky white with crisp apple and white peach fruit, finishing with a tangy, citric snap.

This fleshy and precise Chassagne is drawn from six well-sited parcels across the village: La Canière, Le Chêne, Les Benoîtes, Pot Bois, En Journoblot and Les Houillères. The parcels are below the 1er Crus except Pot Bois, which is one of Chassagne’s highest vineyards and lies above Paul Pillot’s Chassagne, Clos Saint-Jean. Les Houillères also deserves a callout, sitting, as it does, below Bâtard. The average age of the vines is 30 years. This is always an outstanding, stylish village-level wine.

This bright and juicy Bourgogne was drawn from three parcels: one-third comes from a parcel of old-vine Pinot Fin in the Hautes-Côtes; another third from vines in Maranges (village level); and the remainder from a Bourgogne parcel on the edge of Puligny-Montrachet. The Puligny component brings perfume, the Maranges brings depth of fruit, and the Hautes-Côtes brings structure and high-toned perfume. The age of these sites is seriously impressive for a red of this level, with 60-, 70- and 80-year-old vines in the mix. Naturally fermented in concrete tanks, the aging took in some new barrels this year. It’s a racy and mouth-watering vintage with a lovely core of silken fruit and a dab of spice on the finish. Great Bourgogne.

This charismatic old vine cuvée is drawn from two plots: Le Chamery in Cheilly-lès-Maranges and Le Clos in Sampigny-lès-Maranges. The vines are over 50 years old, and the soils tend towards red clay, shot through with rocky chalk. Alexandre Bachelet notes that these terroirs are reasonably warm, and he uses a significant percentage of whole bunches (although less than usual in 2021) to balance the depth of fruit. It’s a smart wine packed with dark cherry and bitter chocolate notes and plenty of powdery tannins. Terrific value now, this will be even better with a few years in bottle.

La Fussière is the largest climat of Maranges (at the very south of the Côte de Beaune, next to Santenay), covering an area of almost 35 hectares. It faces south, directly towards the start of the Côte Chalonnaise, on a slope at an altitude between 290 and 400 metres. With the addition of a new parcel in 2020, the Bachelet vines cover three hectares with an average age of 60 years. Eleven different parcels are blended to make this cuvée. This wine spent roughly 12 months in used casks and was then racked to cement vats, where it rested for roughly six months.

The Bachelet aim has always been to craft finer, more aromatic reds from the Côte’s southern reaches, and this limestone-rich site has helped further this aim. In addition to the reviews below, Jasper Morris opines: “If you don’t know or don’t rate Maranges, this wine is the wake-up call.” Hear, hear! In today’s Burgundy—and bear in mind that this is Burgundy 1er Cru—the word bargain is an understatement!

Bachelet-Monnot owns half of this Clos. Boutière may well derive from old French for ‘end of the field’, which fits, considering this vineyard sits on the border of Santenay at the very end of the Clos Roussots vineyard. Clos de la Boutière has more clay in the soil, which can be felt in the added richness of the wine. It comes from a single parcel of 80-year-old, mass-selection vines, which deliver ripeness and power. All the fruit was destemmed this vintage. Cropped at just 18 hl/hl, you can again expect more depth, texture and seduction than the more linear La Fussière. Again, next-level Maranges and a terrific bargain for 1er Cru Burgundy.

Santenay was among the hardest-hit villages of the Côte de Beaune in 2021. Hence, this grower has no Santenay Blanc this year and just one red cuvée instead of the usual three; the single vineyards of Les Charmes Dessus and Les Prarons Dessus were blended into this wine. Les Charmes is a site just under the Clos Rousseau 1er Cru on the southeastern slopes of Santenay. While it’s reasonably close to Clos de la Boutière, the terroir is markedly different. Here, the red clay and rocky limestone soils produce aromatic, racy reds of great finesse and freshness. Les Prarons Dessus is one of Santenay’s northernmost vineyards, adjacent to Chassagne 1er Cru Morgeot and just beneath Clos de Tavannes. The chalky soils here are rich in red clay, which, combined with the old vines, gives a darker, rounder Santenay with more flesh and finer tannins. Old vines in Le Chainey and Les Bras, on rocky mountain soils above the domaine’s Maranges vines, also contribute. The sum of its parts is ultra impressive for this commune and this level.

This is our maiden allocation from the brothers’ vines in Chanlins, a village site that lies just above the 1er Cru of the same name on the Volnay border. The 0.25-hectare parcel of 40-year-old vines comes from Alex and Marc Bachelet’s father, who sold the fruit to négociants until 2011. At 400 metres, it’s one of the highest and steepest vineyards of the Côte de Beaune, which, along with the stony, chalk-rich soils, results in a pretty and mid-weighted ‘Volnay’ expression of Pommard. In most years, the wine ferments with a good percentage of whole bunches, yet this year, the Bachelets used appreciably less, partly due to the ripeness of the stems and partly to help fill the tank.