2016 Côte de Nuits-Villages

It is always a pleasure to visit Denis Bachelet, although I worry that he worries too much. He is rightly concerned about the changes in the growing season due to global warming, with memories of the destructive torrential rain in June 2022 fresh in his mind. “We saw some coulure after the June storms,” he tells me. “Consequently the older vines suffered some court noué. There was a bit of stress in the vines. I picked from September 1 over the next five-and-a-half days, and they will be bottled in March according to the lunar calendar. At the moment, they are not as expressive as 2020 at this stage.” I have adored Bachelet’s wines since I started buying them around the millennium, when cognoscenti mostly overlooked them. They still exude poise and refinement, an effortless quintet full of energy. They are crowned by his sublime Charmes-Chambertin from some of its oldest vines, along with Roty’s, seeming to elevate them above all else.

Denis Bachelet seems exhausted even just thinking about the 2021 season when I call in at his winery in Gevrey-Chambertin. “It was complicated with all the damage and climate,” he rues. “We had a lot of frost, and it was cold into May. The vines took time to get going, and then in June, they exploded as they tried to catch up. But I had lost more than 50% of the volume. There were only five cagettes of Evocelles. It reminds me of the frost we had back in 1981. On 22 June was the big deluge from the Combe de Lavaux that brought some hail, but it was too early in the season to do serious damage. June and July saw a lot of rain, and mildew pressure was strong. It was difficult to spray, though August saw some improvement. There was a lot of coulure, especially on the older vines that suffer degeneration [from the 161-59 clone]. I started picking on 18 September, and there were four days of harvest. The bunches were healthy, so I did not need to sort much. I did a little more extraction as the vintage was like one from the 1970s and 1080s.”

Having missed visiting Denis Bachelet back in November, I was eager to return to one of Gevrey-Chambertin’s top growers. Bachelet received me on a Saturday morning as he was due to bottle his 2020s the following Monday. Therefore, I have treated these as finished wines. After lamenting the recent spell of dry weather, the ominous risk of frost of that following weekend and the toll this has exacted upon volumes, reducing his Charmes-Chambertin from 8 to just 3 barrels in 2021, I set about his five 2020s, one less because his Les Evocelles was too small to be bottled separately. Bachelet commenced picking on 27 August. Of course, I always adore the crown jewel, the Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, though as a punter, I would jump on his Côte de Nuits-Villages and Bourgogne Rouge where you can enjoy Bachelet’s craftsmanship without damaging your wallet.

Denis Bachelet was the only visit rescued from my cancelled last week of tasting. I had to forego my baguette for lunch, but the wines were worth the sacrifice. Covid aside, the pandemic is not the only challenge that Bachelet has faced in recent months. “The summer dryness means that we are 40% down in terms of quantity,” a rueful Bachelet told me as we descended down the precariously steep steps to the barrel cellar. “There have been three consecutive dry seasons and it is beginning to affect the vines. There is just no water. In 2020 it was even less. I started picking on 14 September.” What can I say that I have not written before? From the entry Côte de Nuits-Villages up to the Charmes-Chambertin, all the 2019s bare the hallmarks of Bachelet’s style: pure red fruit aromas, stunning delineation, machine-tooled precision and bewitching grace on their finishes. The only downside is that the shortfall means there is no Les Evocelles this year.

How bloody good are Denis Bachelet’s wines? Forget points, forget the superlative for a moment. These are wines that remind you that when it comes to Pinot Noir, to quote the great Carly Simon, nobody does it better (than Burgundy). These are wines that I don’t want to write about and proselytise, I want to drink them with my best Burgundy-loving compadres. "The harvest began on 2 September and lasted for five days," Bachelet told me, once I had explained to him why I am looking a bit thinner compared to 12 months ago. "There was no rot and there was a very good maturity of grapes. It was warm during harvest so we cooled the grapes upon the arrival at the winery. Everything was destemmed as usual and the alcoholic degrees are between 12.5% and 13.2%. The surprise is that the warmth of the growing season seemed to concentrate the alcohol and the acidity at the same time." What can I say - superlative, tensile, ethereal wines and that extends from Bachelet’s entry level crus up to his eight and a quarter barrels of Charmes-Chambertin.

I think of Domaine Denis Bachelet as a perfectly formed producer. They offer a small and tidy number of crus – just five, excluding a Bourgogne Aligoté. Every cru is uniformly excellent. There is but a solitary Grand Cru to satisfy those for whom the label is important, and yet Bachelet’s Côtes de Nuits-Villages can be riveting and can age beautifully. Bachelet himself has always been a softly spoken, erudite and extremely affable fellow. Perhaps the only thing I would change is the market prices. Long gone are the days when I would regularly buy a couple of bottles of Charmes-Chambertin. But I can understand the demand given the quality.

“I started picking on September 9 or 10,” Bachelet told me in his small barrel cellar, which thankfully is less empty than in recent years. “I picked over six days, and it was straightforward - certainly less complicated than in 2018. I think the 2017s approach 2014 in terms of style.”

There’s not much to say except that Bachelet’s quintet of reds are just wonderful. Don’t obsess too much over the Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. Even though it is utterly sublime, the eight barrels to satiate the world will doubtless make it difficult to obtain a bottle (though there is no harm in trying!) Rest assured that the Côtes de Nuits-Villages is just brilliant and both Gevrey-Chambertins, Corbeaux and Evocelles, rank among the best you will find. That is what I have come to expect from this address – no more, no less.

“I adore the style of the 2016 vintage and prefer it to 2015,” said Denis Bachelet as we began to taste his new set of wines from barrel. He finds the ‘16s tastier while the ‘15s are rather extreme, “showing power and tannic force but lacking finesse and elegance owing to the drought year.” Bachelet started harvesting in 2016 on September 24, with grape sugars in the 12% range. He chaptalized most of his wines lightly. Bachelet lost about 25% of his Charmes-Chambertin production to frost but the rest of his vineyards were barely touched. But he added that he had to treat continuously against explosive mildew until as late as August 10.

Bachelet’s is a very pure, fresh style, typically with moderate to lowish pHs (3.45 to 3.5 in both ’16 and ’15); as he brings only a moderate quantity of fine lees into the barrels, his wines are less likely to become reduced during élevage. Bachelet routinely destems his fruit, and as of the 2014 vintage he has reduced the number of pigeages to two a day until the middle of the fermentation (previously he did three punchdowns per day), then only remontages. He planned to bottle his 2016s in March, assembling them in tanks just one day before.

Bachelet picked during the sweet spot of the 2015 harvest, from September 5 to 10. Grape sugars were moderate (his Bourgogne was the only vineyard to reach 13%) and Bachelet chaptalized lightly to prolong the fermentations. “We would have needed more rain to get higher degrees of potential alcohol,” he told me, noting that his vines on sandy soil in Gevrey-Chambertin La Justice (which go into his Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes bottling) were the most affected by drought stress in 2015. As is his usual habit, Bachelet totally destemmed his fruit. “I never follow fashion,” he explained. The wines had been racked in early June after the malolactic fermentations but were still in barrel in December.

Bachelet believes that the ‘15s will age for a long time but that they will be accessible earlier than the 2005s, which had more astringent tannins. While they were a bit less fleshy than I would have expected from this very rich vintage, Bachelet's distinctly elegant '15s boast electric energy and finish gripping but not dry.

Denis Bachelet described his young 2014s as “tender and feminine,” adding that he’s “pleased to have a year like 2014 that can be drunk earlier” He also noted that he intentionally reduced extraction in 2014 in search of earlier accessibility "The 2014s are exuberant like the 2002s, which have always been good to drink," he told me

Denis Bachelet described his young 2014s as “tender and feminine,” adding that he’s “pleased to have a year like 2014 that can be drunk earlier.” He also noted that he intentionally reduced extraction in 2014 in search of earlier accessibility. "The 2014s are exuberant like the 2002s, which have always been good to drink," he told me.

Denis Bachelet told me that organic farming "already reduces yields by 30%," so hail or drought can easily result in a tiny crop. Still, crop levels were healthy here in 2014. Bachelet described his 2014s as "flattering, fruity wines--not too concentrated but very Pinot," adding that because the wines will drink early, they'll be great for restaurants. He noted that 2015 would be a more tannic, powerful style with similarities to 2005 and 2003, but said that at this point he prefers 2014 to the newest vintage.

Bachelet began harvesting in '14 on September 17, picking fruit with potential alcohol between 12% and 12. 5% and chaptalizing lightly. He told me that he does one pigeage per day until the fermenting must has several degrees of alcohol; at one time he did three.

Denis Bachelet describes 2013 as a vintage fraught with challenges, starting with a cool, rainy spring that adversely affected flowering and lowered yields. The fruit ripened during the last few weeks of September, when the sun is weaker than it is earlier in the summer. Harvest started on October 5, something that had not been seen at the domaine since the 1980s. Bachelet's 2013s capture the style of the year in their vibrant, chiseled personalities yet have plenty of the textural depth that is such a Bachelet signature. Across the board, these are very fine Burgundies.

Denis Bachelet asked rhetorically: "With so many restaurants in France and elsewhere putting young Burgundies on their lists immediately, should I make wines that will give pleasure early or should I continue to make wines that need extended aging?" Bachelet, who has always maintained that his wines need at least six or seven years of bottle aging, seemed genuinely conflicted. Bachelet has always sought to retain sound natural acidity in his grapes, but he was not a particularly early harvester in 2013, beginning on October 5 and eliminating both rotten and green grapes. He had healthy crop levels in the range of 40 to 42 hectoliters per hectare in 2013 and potential alcohol levels were in the 11.8% range; he chaptalized his various cuvées to 12.5% to 12.8%. With healthy low pHs, the 2013s are in the same style as the 2010s and 2006s here, Bachelet told me. "They're probably for drinking after the 2012s."

Denis Bachelet advises drinking his 2012s before his '13s and indeed I found these wines much more approachable in November. As in a majority of cellars these days, I tasted the finished wines from 375-ml. bottles and I had the feeling that my samples here were a bit advanced. So I would suspect the 750s in the marketplace to be fresher.

Denis Bachelet's small cellar is stark for how empty the barrel room is. In 2012 yields are down from 30% to more than 50% for the Charmes. According to Bachelet mildew in May and bad weather during the flowering were the main culprits. Flowering was drawn out over an entire month, whereas in a normal year everything is said and done in about a week. If that wasn't bad enough, the oldest vines were affected the most by the dismal weather. As is the custom here, the wines were racked before the malos, something that is done largely because of space considerations. Even though the malos were quite late the 2012s showed beautifully. This is a gorgeous set of wines from Denis Bachelet. The heartbreak is likely to be in trying to find them.

Bachelet describes 2012 as a classic year, whereas the 2011s were more exuberant from barrel ("they now remind me of the agreeable 2002s").He carries out a one-week cold maceration but presses at dryness, eschewing post-fermentation maceration because he doesn't want to extract dry tannins.He racked the wines in March of 2013, before the malos, then heated his cellar to 15 or 16 degrees C get the secondary fermentations to finish in April.The wines were still on their fine lees in barrel in November, and Bachelet planned to bottle them in February or March. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd, www.martinscottwines.com and Wines Unlimited, www.winesunlimited.com)

Denis Bachelet's 2011s are just as beautiful from bottle as they were from barrel. Bachelet had to be patient in waiting to allow some of his late-ripening parcels to mature as disease pressure mounted towards the end of the harvest.

Bachelet always destems but does not crush his fruit.Owing to substantial millerandage in his old vines, he ends up fermenting with a high percentage of whole berries, which is partly responsible for the creamy richness of his wines.Bachelet told me that he harvested in 2011 with potential alcohol between 11.6% and 12%, explaining that it was impossible to wait for fuller ripeness and higher sugars due to the risk of spreading rot.But the grapes were in good condition, he noted, and he did more extraction than in the average year, although the pre-fermentation cold soak was shorter than usual due to the warm ambient conditions at the time of harvest (Bachelet began on August 31).In its acidity, noted Bachelet, 2011 reminds him of such past vintages as 2006 and 2001. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd, www.martinscottwines.com and Wines Unlimited, www.winesunlimited.com)

Lalou Bize-Leroy has two fabulous Grand Cru reds sitting in her tiny cellar at Domaine D'Auvenay, on the hills outside Meursault. Bize-Leroy recently added to her holdings at D'Auvenay with purchases of small parcels in Bâtard-Montrachet and the Puligny villages vineyard Les Enseignères. Both parcels are currently farmed conventionally and will be converted to biodynamic farming, which is of course standard practice at the domaine.

Denis Bachelet describes his 2010s as "a bit in the style of 2006 and 2001." What does the vintage lack, I asked him. "I don't think like that," he responded. "It's what nature gave us." Bachelet told me he eliminated some underripe grapes at harvest-time but did not have any problems with rot. He noted that his 2008s had higher acidity than the 2010s, with significantly more malic acidity in particular. "The two vintages are not comparable," he said. Bachelet does two punchdowns daily until the end of the fermentations, then much less in the way of pigeage in order to avoid extracting hard tannins. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)

Denis Bachelet's 2009s showed better from bottle than they did from barrel. This is a gorgeous set of wines.

Denis Bachelet farms four hectares of vineyards, which are just enough to produce about 20,000 bottles of wine per year. Many of the vineyards are old, which contributes to a house style built on power and textural richness.

Bachelet considers 2009 a great vintage, "like 2002 and 1999, other vintages whose wines show great sucrosite." The huge rainstorm on July 14 (about 150 millimeters fell in Gevrey-Chambertin, according to Bachelet) gave the soil good water reserves for August and September. "The concentration in 2005 was partly due to the drying of the grapes on the vine during drought conditions, but we didn't have that issue in 2009," he noted. "The 2009s may always be good to drink," he went on. "They're certainly easy to approach today." He credits his "ideal" pHs of 2009 (mostly in the 3.45 range) to his high percentage of very old vines. Bachelet started picking on September 12 and made the full allowable yields. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)

As most of the 2008 malos didn't end here until September, Denis Bachelet warned that his wines were "not yet in the full maturity of their elevage and really need another two months. It really takes until four or five months after the malos to reveal the pleasure of the wines." I had another appointment that morning so I couldn't wait the requisite four months, but the wines showed considerable promise. Bachelet told me he harvested with potential alcohols in the 12% to 12.5% range. He always eliminates a portion of underripe grapes "as the selection massale always gives a range of ripeness." Bachelet also noted that in the past few years, he's pressing more quickly after the end of the fermentation in order to get suppler tannins, and this approach clearly was constructive in 2008. As to the potential longevity of the new crop of wines? "Certainly at least a mid-term ager," said Bachelet. The wines had not yet been racked at the time of my visit, but Bachelet had added three tiny doses of SO2 along the way. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)

As most of the 2008 malos didn't end here until September, Denis Bachelet warned that his wines were "not yet in the full maturity of their elevage and really need another two months. It really takes until four or five months after the malos to reveal the pleasure of the wines." I had another appointment that morning so I couldn't wait the requisite four months, but the wines showed considerable promise. Bachelet told me he harvested with potential alcohols in the 12% to 12.5% range. He always eliminates a portion of underripe grapes "as the selection massale always gives a range of ripeness." Bachelet also noted that in the past few years, he's pressing more quickly after the end of the fermentation in order to get suppler tannins, and this approach clearly was constructive in 2008. As to the potential longevity of the new crop of wines? "Certainly at least a mid-term ager," said Bachelet. The wines had not yet been racked at the time of my visit, but Bachelet had added three tiny doses of SO2 along the way. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)

Bachelet made his normal yields of 40 to 45 hectoliters per hectare in 2007, as the old vines here are very consistent. He leaves eight to ten clusters in the spring because he doesn't want too much energy to go into the remaining fruit if the summer is rainy. At the time of the green harvest he reduces the crop to seven or eight bunches, but because he is more interested in aerating the clusters, he tends not to eliminate fruit on his old vines when the grapes are small, as they were in 2007. Bachelet describes 2004 and 2005 as more masculine vintages, while 2006, 2007 and 2008 are easier-to-understand vins de plaisir. "It was critical to be rigorous with treatments in 2007 as well as 2008 to protect the foliage," he told me, adding that the bio people had a lot of problems with mildew. Bachelet typically carries out a long debourbage and starts with a relatively small quantity of lees; he protects his wines by keeping a lot of gas straight through to the end of the elevage. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; and Vinalia Imports, Camarillo, CA)

Bachelet picked his fruit in 2006 with potential alcohol in the low 12% range, and chaptalized to about 13% to prolong the fermentations. "We need acidity here," he explained. "It's not California." Still, he told me, the sugars in some parcels in 2006 were at least as high as those of the previous year, when very dry conditions resulted in a blockage of maturity in some sites. The 2006 malos ended late (mostly in July and August), and yet the wines were easier to taste than the 2005s were a year ago. Bachelet's obsession with making wines with energy served him very well in 2005, as this looks to be an outstanding vintage here. For his part, Bachelet describes this set of wines as very closed and in need of long aging, but their high quality was clear in November. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; and Vinalia Imports, Camarillo, CA)

Bachelet picked his fruit in 2006 with potential alcohol in the low 12% range, and chaptalized to about 13% to prolong the fermentations. "We need acidity here," he explained. "It's not California." Still, he told me, the sugars in some parcels in 2006 were at least as high as those of the previous year, when very dry conditions resulted in a blockage of maturity in some sites. The 2006 malos ended late (mostly in July and August), and yet the wines were easier to taste than the 2005s were a year ago. Bachelet's obsession with making wines with energy served him very well in 2005, as this looks to be an outstanding vintage here. For his part, Bachelet describes this set of wines as very closed and in need of long aging, but their high quality was clear in November. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; and Vinalia Imports, Camarillo, CA)

As an indication of how cold France was during August of 2006, Bachelet told me he had to heat his cellar to get the 2005 malolactic fermentations to finish. He probably won't bottle these wines until April of 2007, but he feels that this vintage can easily support a longer elevage. Bachelet was not the only vigneron in Gevrey-Chambertin to tell me that he is finding "a return to acidity" in the wines from this village, as the soils here continue to recover from all the potassium additions made in the '60s and '70s. Incidentally, Bachelet feels that his 2004s are very closed and need a lot of time. He describes these wines as tight and peppery today: "a spicy vintage." About 2005, he went on, "there's not a lot to say, except that we had a bit of drought." And the wines have tightened up, he added, since the temperature of the cellar came down during a cold week at the beginning of November. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; and Vinalia Imports, Camarillo, CA)

As an indication of how cold France was during August of 2006, Bachelet told me he had to heat his cellar to get the 2005 malolactic fermentations to finish. He probably won't bottle these wines until April of 2007, but he feels that this vintage can easily support a longer elevage. Bachelet was not the only vigneron in Gevrey-Chambertin to tell me that he is finding "a return to acidity" in the wines from this village, as the soils here continue to recover from all the potassium additions made in the '60s and '70s. Incidentally, Bachelet feels that his 2004s are very closed and need a lot of time. He describes these wines as tight and peppery today: "a spicy vintage." About 2005, he went on, "there's not a lot to say, except that we had a bit of drought." And the wines have tightened up, he added, since the temperature of the cellar came down during a cold week at the beginning of November. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; and Vinalia Imports, Camarillo, CA)

Bachelet believes that the 2004s resemble the 2001s in the nature of their acidity, and does not think either of these vintages is for drinking young. Bachelet told me he carried out a green harvest, then eliminated less-good fruit both in the vines at harvest time and on a vibrating sorting table in the winery. Although he told me that he has been working with riper grapes since 1999 and 2000, he emphasized that he still seeks to make wines with finesse and elegance. "I never follow la mode; I make the kind of wines I like," he said. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; and Vinalia Imports, Camarillo, CA)

Bachelet believes that the 2004s resemble the 2001s in the nature of their acidity, and does not think either of these vintages is for drinking young. Bachelet told me he carried out a green harvest, then eliminated less-good fruit both in the vines at harvest time and on a vibrating sorting table in the winery. Although he told me that he has been working with riper grapes since 1999 and 2000, he emphasized that he still seeks to make wines with finesse and elegance. "I never follow la mode; I make the kind of wines I like," he said. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA; and Vinalia Imports, Camarillo, CA)

My first visit in several years to this micro-domain (just 3.1 hectares) was well-timed, since Bachelet describes 1999 as "a reference year, the best vintage I've ever made. The wines have a tenderness but with a lot of structure. They're a bit like '96 but with less acidity." Bachelet began leaf-pulling in '99; with such limited holdings, this labor-intensive technique is feasible, he told me. Aerating the grapes, he continued, enabled him to get a bit more ripeness in 1999 and to avoid rot in 2000. Bachelet had no '98s left to show; Burgundy lovers with good connections may want to make early arrangements to snag a bottle or two of Bachelet superb '99 Charmes-Chambertin. (A Becky Wasserman Selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY and Esquin Imports, San Anselmo, CA)