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Bouchard Père & Fils
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The Burgundy House Bouchard Père & Fils *** withdraws from the En-Primeur system and discontinues the négociant business. It will now focus exclusively on wines from its own vineyards. This step comes two years after the acquisition of the winery by the investment group Artémis Domaines of billionaire François Pinault. Artémis also includes the Bordeaux-Château Latour ***** and other wineries in Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, Napa Valley, and the Champagne house Jacquesson *****.

The négociant business accounts for about 60 percent of Bouchard Père & Fils' production. Therefore, production will be reduced by a total of 60 to 75 percent compared to five years ago. "Five years ago, we produced an average of 1.8 to two million bottles, and today we can produce 500,000 bottles with the Domaine," said technical director Frédéric Weber. This allows the team to spend more time at each step from pruning to harvest to produce more precise wines. "Today we vinify each age class of the vines separately to gain a better understanding and be more selective in assembling the cuvée," Weber said. "For example, we have seven different age classes of vines for Corton Charlemagne, and we organize a blind tasting. Often, young vines do not have the same minerality or complexity, so we declassify them and use only the best for the Domaine wines. It is a challenge, but it is good for quality and increasing precision."

According to Weber, the previous négociant contracts have quickly been taken over by other operations. This step aligns with the strategy of the parent company. The wines from Clos de Tart will now also be released only after bottling and not sold En Primeur. Additionally, the vineyards in Côte de Nuits – the Premier Crus Chambertin Les Cazetiers and Nuits St. Georges Les Cailles, the Grand Crus Bonnes-Mares, Les Chambertin and Echézeaux, as well as Les Chambolle-Musigny Village – will be transferred to the Domaine d’Eugénie, which also belongs to Artémis. Bouchard Père retains the approximately 99 hectares in Côte de Beaune, spread over 77 Climats and 111 parcels.

As part of this strategic decision, the 2022 vintage will be re-released this year, accompanied by a release of older vintages. According to the company, they will be quality-checked, refilled, recorked, sealed, and labeled. This aims to guarantee the origin from the cellars of the winery.

(al / Source: drinksbusiness.com)

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