*Available in OWC 1/6

The Wine Advocate | RP 90-92
Published: Jun 29, 2007

There are only four barrels of Bouchard’s 2005 Bonnes Mares. Brightly scented with tart, fresh black raspberry along with resin and sage pungency, this displays the almost savage intensity characteristic of its site, as well as slightly obstreperous tannins and a hint of heat in its brambly, concentrated finish. This high-toned, lean, persistent Pinot may calm down and fill out a bit over the next few months. It certainly seems capable of rewarding a decade or more of cellaring.

Managing director Stephane Follin and cellar master Philippe Prost preside over a remarkable new, gravity-fed winemaking facility capable of handling the fruits of Bouchard’s 130 hectares of vines – Burgundy’s largest estate (with 84 hectares in premier and grand crus alone) – not to mention the enormous range of wine from purchased fruit or wines. Fully 40% of the reds are vinified in open-top fermenters with manual punch-downs (the balance in a battery of roto-fermentors) and the system of traffic control alone that must be in place during crush is hard to imagine. The underground acreage devoted to barriques similarly defies imagination – until one sees it. Prost was very cautious with pigeage this year, but incorporated a significant percentage of whole clusters with stems in many of his better lots. A reputation for improved quality is being built here to which the results of 2005 will certainly contribute. I suspect that a number of the wines I tasted had not recovered from their recent bottling, hence the number of “+?”s one sees displayed following my scores. (Wines from the Domaine are designated D on the list above.)

Bouchard-pereetfils.com

Could the prestige of this Grand Cru be due to the work of man or the protection of the gods? Some think that the names come from the verb " marer " which meant " cutlivate ", whilst others assert that the " appellation " originated in the bas-reliefs found on the site representing the mother goddesses, or "Bonnes Meres" who protected the harvest. In 1996, Bouchard Pere & Fils acquired 24 "ares" at Chambolle-Musigny and now produces a little over 1000 bottles of this wine per year.

TASTING NOTE: A remarkably refined bouquet of fruit and spices combined with hint of oak. Dense on the palate, this wine envelops its structure with superb flesh. Very good aging potential.

FOOD/WINE PAIRING: Poultry, game birds (pigeon, fowl, etc.), medium-flavored cheeses.

SERVING TEMPERATURE: Between 17C to 18C

AGEING POTENTIAL: 10 years and more

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 18 to 21 days.

MATURING: 12 to 14 months in French oak, with 45 to 60% new oak.

AGEING: The cellars located in the Bastions of the ancient Ch?teau de Beaune offer ideal ambient conditions. Thanks to their natural hygrometry and constant temperatures, the Grands Crus enjoy from their first youth an environment that is perfectly adapted to tranquil ageing.

GRAPE VARIETY: Pinot Noir

EXPOSITION: East

SOIL OF THE APPELATION: Gravelly soil with clay and limestone, iron traces

TOTAL SURFACE OF THE APPELATION IN PRODUCTION:15 hectares

DOMAIN SURFACE IN PRODUCTION: 0.24 hectares