About Bouchard Père & Fils

The cellars of Bouchard Père & Fils are some of the most historic in all of Burgundy. Located in the heart of the village of Beaune, Bouchard Père & Fils has been an icon of Burgundy for almost 300 years as one of the region’s oldest wine merchants, and today is one of the largest landowners in the Côte d’Or with 320 acres.

Founded as Bouchard Père & Fils in 1731 by Michel Bouchard, it was his son Joseph that created the story of Bouchard as a land owner and producer. Joseph acquired the family’s first vineyard in 1775 in the famous Volnay ‘Les Caillerets’ climat and started the path for Bouchard as it is known today. During the French Revolution, property belonging to the clergy and nobility was confiscated and put up for sale. Joseph’s son, Antoine Philibert Joseph Bouchard, seized the opportunity to extend the family’s vineyard holdings in Beaune, including the famous “Beaune Grèves Vigne de l’Enfant Jesus,” which is an exclusivity of the house.

In 1820, Bernard Bouchard purchased the Château de Beaune, the historic cellar of the domaine, that was once a royal fortress built in the 15th century. The cellars of the château run up to 30 feet underground, providing ideal natural storage for their historic library, containing over a million bottles. Its historical significance is equally as important, as several thousand of these bottles predate the devastating phylloxera, odium, and mildew crises of the 19th century. The oldest bottle in the collection, Meursault Charmes, dates from 1846. The château is open by appointment to consumers and is one of the most visited destinations in Burgundy.

It was in 1995 that the Bouchard family passed the torch to the Henriot family, a perfect synergy between two families dedicated to quality and terroir. Today, the philosophies of the domaine remain to be uncompromised in their quality standards, maintaining long-term grower partnerships and producing each wine with outstanding consistency and the truest expression of each vineyard site. The domaine is the owner and manager of 130 ha (320 acres) of vines across the Côte d’Or, including 12 ha (30 acres) of Grand Cru and 74 ha (182 acres) of Premier Crus vineyards. Bouchard offers an extraordinary mosaic of the finest Burgundy appellations, which today comprises over 450 different vineyards, including 13 Grands Cru wines, 2 Monopoles belonging entirely to Bouchard (Beaune 1er Cru Clos Saint-Landry, Beaune 1er Cru Clos de la Mousse) and 4 exclusivities, which is a named vineyard or plot owned by a single winery within a larger appellation (Grand Cru Chevalier Montrachet La Cabotte, Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L’Enfant Jésus, Beaune 1er Cru du Château Rouge, Beaune 1er Cru du Château Blanc). 

The multitude of vineyard parcels receives special care and attention all year round. Every Bouchard Père & Fils vineyard has been managed using sustainable viticulture since 2000 in order to bring out the authenticity and full potential of the wines. In 2015, the Domaine was awarded the HVE 3 (High Environmental Value) status, the highest level of environmental certification in France, in recognition of its sustainable cultivation methods. Bouchard Père & Fils’ constant attention to detail also continues at harvest time when the grapes are harvested by hand, placed in small crates, and then carefully selected on sorting tables. After pressing, the lots are separated into over 100 different vinified wines.

With complete control over their vineyards and production process, Bouchard Père & Fils has the unique ability to produce a wide range of wines and formats that are approachable in their youth but also, as evidenced by their incredibly deep cellar collection, that age beautifully for decades after the vintage. As a member of their mailing list, U.S. consumers will have unique, exclusive opportunities to access the wide breadth of bottlings crafted by this historic domaine.