The Wine Advocate | RP 92-94
Publisehd: Jan 18, 2024

he 2022 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus is lovely, wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries, spices, violets and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, broad and enveloping, with a fleshy attack that segues into a refined, mineral palate and a saline finish, it's a benchmark for the appellation.

The 2022 vintage is another tour de force for Bouchard, as the accompanying tasting notes reflect. Technical director Frédéric Weber reported little in the way of hydric stress, with rapid ripening at the end of the season that saw some parcels accumulate 1.5% potential alcohol in as little as three days. Fortunately, the team hadn't performed any deleafing and were able to apply protective kaolin clay as sunblock for the leaves and fruit to ride out the heat wave. Harvest began on August 26, with anything picked after 11 a.m. left overnight in a cold room for processing the following day, and the harvesters stopping work at 2 p.m.

As I've written before, viticulture chez Bouchard is among the best of the big houses (I drive past their Beaune vineyards several hundred times every year). Organic conversion is underway, and canopies are now hedged to 1.30 meters, around 30 centimeters higher than the classic low rognage that still predominates along the Côte—forward-thinking innovations that will no doubt find imitators in short order among other big players. Vinifications in red increasingly incorporate whole bunches, and whites are barreled down before the end of alcoholic fermentation, with foudres now employed for the second winter of élevage for some cuvées.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 96
Published: Nov 14, 2024  

Often consumers expect a great Burgundy to be a dramatic and showy wine. This is an ideal example of how Burgundian greatness often expresses itself more gently. The harmony of red-fruit character with superfine tannins, plus excellent concentration and really silky tannins on the medium-bodied palate marks this out as a truly exceptional wine for the appellation. Delicious though it is now, try to give it some time in the glass to reveal its delicately spicy mystery. From a 3.9 hectare parcel in the middle of the slope of the 1er Cru Greves, where there's never any hydric stress. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

Winemaker

TASTING NOTE: Superb fruit and spice aromas with an oaky note on the nose. Intense, full and yet delicate on the palate, the wine has a charming velvetiness. Very good ageing potential.
FOOD/WINE PAIRING: Game birds, fattened chicken in cream sauce, Burgundian cheeses.
SERVING TEMPERATURE: Between 17?C to 18?C
AGEING POTENTIAL: 7 to 10 years and more

K N O W - H O W
HARVEST: manual, in small cases of 13 kg. Careful manual sorting of each grape.
VINIFICATION: Following total or partial destemming on the vintage, fermentation in small containers, gentle pressing ensure optimal vinification. Depending on the profile of the vintage, vatting lasts 15 to 20 days.
MATURING: 12 to 14 months in French oak, with 30 to 50% new oak.
AGEING: The cellars of the Bastions of the ancient Ch?teau de Beaune offer natural ambient conditions that are perfectly adapted to ageing the Premiers Crus.

GRAPE VARIETY: Pinot Noir
EXPOSITION: East-Southeast
SOIL OF THE APPELATION: Limestone and clay, sandy and gravelly
DOMAIN SURFACE IN PRODUCTION: 3.92 hectares