Bouchard Père et Fils – Oldies but goodies

Frédéric Engerer of Domaine Artemis is a true wine geek with a professional yet very nuanced and enjoyable taste for great Burgundies and wine in general.

This year, during the Hospices de Beaune weekend, Artemis Domaine’s director Frederic Engerer invited some of the leading journalists on Burgundy … amongst others, Martin, Morris, Nanson, Bettane, Noble Roth and Ohman to taste some younger, old and very old bottles from the vast Bouchard Père et Fils cellar.

Let’s face it, it is rare to taste great, old Burgundies these days, especially if we are talking wines from a great, well-kept cellar like Bouchard Père et Fils.

The prime condition of the wines, including the opportunity to take another bottle, if the first is not working perfectly well – is unique.

The tasting was focused on the vintages ending on 3 … 2013, 2003, 1993, 1983, 1973, 1963, 1953, 1943, 1933 and 1923.

Not all of these vintages are great … but Frédéric Engerer and his team managed to find some drinkable wines in all years … amazing … and some truly out-of-this-world excellent wines in the top years.

Bouchard Pere et Fils: a unique cellar

The cellars of Bouchard is filled with gems and Artemis has started to sell some of these old bottles … to have them consumed and enjoyed before time catches up …

The whites

The lineup at this occasion included both whites and reds. Bouchard has a very strong lineup with the whites … so, the selection of the white lineup must have been easier.

Please note that the Bouchard Père et Fils Corton and Corton Charlemagne are both very very good wines and deserve all the applause and enjoyment they can get.

The Montrachets … Cabotte 2013, the Montrachet 1993 and 1973 were stunningly good given age and vintage … and the Corton-Charlemagne 1953 served from magnum was extremely fresh and alive … with fully pure flavours despite its 70 years in the cellar … truly amazing.

The reds served

Bouchard has some truly magnificent red cuvées too, and one needs to mention the delightful red Corton (1923) and the Volnay Caillerets (1953) which are two of the prized possessions of Bouchard Père et Fils. They both showed well in these two fabulous vintages … only my second taste of 1923 a stunning wine … but my reference is very weak here.

1953, I have tasted quite a few times and the Romanée Saint-Vivant was most likely the best wine at this tasting … an unknown origin but lively and still 100% crisp and vivid … a brilliant wine.

The two 1943s were also very interesting … I have only ever tasted very few 1943s before this tasting – and certainly not with the provenance of these two.

Additionally, Artemis has d’Eugenie and Clos de Tart to fill the gaps and even older bottles from Bouchard found deep in the cellars of the Château de Beaune. The d’Éugenie 2013 Clos de Vougeot was showing very well … slowly but surely firing on all cylinders.

Thanks to Artemis, Frédéric Engerer and Bouchard Père et Fils,

Let’s face it, it is, for the most, very difficult to find and taste drinkable wines back to 1923, and it is therefore a unique treat to be invited … merci.

When I started to taste Burgundies in the 1990s, it was still possible to find 1919 and 1929 … but these wines are now 30 years older … and they age – some of them even with an unknown provenance … so old Burgundies are becoming difficult to find.

… an incredible experience to taste the wines from Bouchard’s cellar … a true treat.