Bachelet, Jean-Claude
- Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
For several years, readers have heard me sing the praises of Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet, where brothers Jean-Claude and Benoît have been taking the wines to new heights in recent years. Serious viticulture, carefully chosen harvest dates, long press cycles and extended élevage in wood on the lees, followed by bottling under high-quality natural cork, are the order of the day. Maturing vineyards, more refined cooperage choices that impact the wines less and a spacious new winery in the hamlet of Gamay are surely just a few of the small details that together account for the qualitative progress that's been made over the last decade. —William Kelley, Wine Advocate, January 2025
2023 was a good crop, 45+ in red, 55hl/ha in white. with quality in both colours. It is the first vintage certified organic by ECOCERT, though the Bachelets have been organic for many years. They started on 2nd September in En Remilly and part of Macherelles, then 5th for Blanchots, 6th to 12th for the main crop. The reds gained 3 degrees in 10 days, finishing at 13.5%+. I found them to be slightly high octane, but Benoît Bachelet believes they will tighten up during the second winter in barrel.
The whites register from 13-13.5%. The Bachelet program is to crush the grapes in warmer years, which brings out a useful bitterness to compensate for lower acidities, even though they held up relatively well. They will not be bottled until July-August 2025, giving them nearly 24 months in barrel, largely in the 456-litre format. Bachelet whites can come across as oaky and as slightly thick textured in youth, but everything refines beautifully in bottle, and they tend to keep very well." —Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy (website, Jan. 2025)
Jean-Baptiste (first vintage 2005) and Benoît Bachelet (first vintage 2000) are now the primary winemakers at the family domaine, which has been making wine since the early 17th century. The domaine is based in the village of Gamay, a hamlet of Saint-Aubin, and they have ten hectares, producing half red and half white. Almost half of the vineyards are in Chassagne-Montrachet, another 40% of the vineyards are in Saint-Aubin, and the remaining 13% of their holdings are in Puligny-Montrachet. All of the vineyards are estate-owned, and they started conversion to biodynamic production in 2012. In 2016, all ten hectares were managed following biodynamic principles. Although it means a lot more work in the vineyards, the brothers find that the wines have more precision and you get a stronger sense of terroir.
Vinification is natural with indigenous yeasts and slow fermentations. Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels on fine lees. This means that the wines have two winters in the cellar, which contributes to the finesse, depth and structure of the wine, necessary for its aging capacity.
Allen Meadows considers the Bachelet wines "worth-seeking" out, in the same camp as Pierre Yves Colin Morey, Oliver Lamy, and Henri Prudhon. (Burghound #63, June 2016)