2022 Bouchard Pere & Fils - Beaune du Chateau Rouge (750ml)

Bouchard Père & Fils has been a defining name in Burgundy since settling at the Château de Beaune in 1820, a fifteenth-century royal fortress whose underground galleries the house still uses for slow, cool aging. Over the centuries the family assembled roughly 130 hectares of vines across the Côte d'Or, including a dozen grand cru and dozens of premier cru sites. Since 1995, the estate has been part of Maisons & Domaines Henriot, though it continues to farm and vinify each parcel with the same attention to individual terroir.

Beaune du Château Rouge has been an exclusive house cuvée since 1907, blending Pinot Noir from seventeen premier cru vineyards around Beaune, including Grèves, Bressandes, and Clos du Roi, each vinified separately before assembly. Grapes are hand-picked in small cases and carefully sorted, with destemming varying by vintage, then fermented and vatted for roughly two weeks before aging around fourteen months in French oak, with a meaningful share of new barrels.

The 2022 shows deep color and ripe blackberry and plum fruit, layered with earth, smoke, and warm spice, backed by a firm tannic structure and a long, lingering finish. It's an excellent match for roast duck, mushroom risotto, or a well-aged Comté.