2023 Denis Bachelet - Cote de Nuits Villages (750ml)

Denis Bachelet has run his family's small estate in Gevrey-Chambertin since 1982, when he took over from grandparents who had already stepped back years earlier. What began as under two hectares has grown, parcel by careful parcel, into a domaine of just four and a half, farmed with the kind of low yields and meticulous sorting that have made the wines something of a cult favorite, sold mostly through allocation.

This bottling is the last to carry the Côte de Nuits-Villages name. Starting with the 2024 vintage, the same vines will be reclassified as Fixin, though nothing in the vineyard itself will change. The fruit comes from old vines planted in 1952, spread across east-facing, clay-limestone plots in Brochon and neighboring Vignois. Winemaking is traditional throughout, with full destemming, a short ambient-yeast fermentation, and fifteen to eighteen months in barrel, only a portion of it new, before hand-bottling without fining or filtration.

Expressive aromas of blackberry, mulberry, licorice, and warm spice give way to a medium-to-full-bodied palate, layered and textural, with fine-grained tannins and a long, savory, earthy finish. It calls for braised short rib, roast venison, or an aged Gouda.