Albert Bichot : Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru "Vide-Bourse" 2022

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for Albert Bichot's Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Vide-Bourse" 2022

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a yellow hue with bright highlights.

Nose

The nose reveals an elegant, complex aromatic profile, evoking notes of citrus fruit and white flowers. With aeration, the bouquet develops toward nuances of dried fruits and exotic spices.

Palate

On the palate, this wine shows richness and intensity, with a generous body kept in balance by subtle oaky touches that suggest rather than dominate. The highly enjoyable finish lingers at length with persistent flavors. Creamy, buttery notes accompany a mineral structure, while the vanilla imparted by barrel aging integrates harmoniously into the fruity profile.

Food and wine pairings

This Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Vide-Bourse" 2022 pairs perfectly with delicately prepared fish and seafood. It also elegantly complements poultry and white meats served with creamy mushroom sauces. Aged cheeses are also an excellent match.

Serving and cellaring

The Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Vide-Bourse" 2022 can be enjoyed now for its fruit or cellared for aging for around five to seven years.

A Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru combining elegance and Burgundian complexity

The estate

Founded in 1831 by Bernard Bichot in Monthélie, the Albert Bichot House established itself permanently in Beaune in 1912. Now led by Albéric Bichot, representing the sixth generation of the family, this Burgundy house farms more than 107 hectares of vines spread across six estates throughout Burgundy, from Chablis to Beaujolais. A pioneer in sustainable viticulture, Albert Bichot converted its Côte-d'Or properties to certified organic farming as of 2014, and now produces forty-seven certified organic cuvées. The House stands out for its dual role as both an owner and a merchant-éleveur, also working with seventy partner winegrowers.

The vineyard

The Climat Vide-Bourse lies in the southern part of the Côte de Beaune, in the heart of the Chassagne-Montrachet appellation, alongside the prestigious terroirs of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. Classified as Premier Cru in 1974, this Climat benefits from a privileged position near the Grand Cru Bâtard-Montrachet, along the old Couches road. The soils are composed of limestone clay with a high proportion of small stones, providing excellent drainage and mineral complexity to the wine. Harvesting is carried out by hand, with rigorous sorting of the grapes before gentle pressing.

The vintage

The 2022 vintage in Burgundy offered the best quality-to-quantity combination since 2017. The year was marked by particularly warm temperatures, with a summer among the hottest ever recorded. However, significant rainfall in June enabled the vines to come through the dry summer period with vigor. This alternation between water availability during critical growth phases and favorable ripening conditions produced grapes with optimal sugar accumulation while preserving balanced acidity, an essential element in crafting high-quality white wines.

Winemaking and aging

The Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Vide-Bourse" 2022 is vinified according to traditional Burgundian methods. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in oak barrels for around six weeks to two months. The wine is then aged on fine lees for fourteen to sixteen months in oak barrels, with thirty to thirty-five percent new oak. This carefully managed proportion of new barrels allows the complexity contributed by the oak to integrate gradually while preserving the expression of the terroir and the mineral characteristics of the Climat Vide-Bourse.

Grape variety

100% chardonnay