‘…the wines are well worth readers' attention, and they will deliver immense pleasure in their youth. Indeed, it will be hard to pick a bad time to open a Bertheau…’ William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
‘I feel a special affection for this domaine.’
Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
I tasted a lot of 2022's from barrel and bottle in Burgundy last year. There is widespread agreement that the wines are fresh, vibrant and astonishingly great; and a real "surprise" because the very warm and dry season produced such wines of freshness and vibrancy!
We have been importing François Bertheau’s wonderfully fruited, perfumed, classic and lacey Chambolles since the 2014 vintage. Over this short time there has been a growing chorus of praise from clients here in Australia. François works hard in his 6ha of vines; only Chambolle-Musigny, no other commune. He is determined to have healthy little bunches and he guides the wines through the fermentation and ageing with great care and craft. He does not extract a lot of tannin, nor use a lot of new oak, no more than 10-20% across the range. His 'villages' plots, just near Musigny and on similar contour lines, are well-sited, his Charmes also. But his other premier crus of Baudes, Gruenchers, Noirots and Groseilles sit in the glow of Bonnes Mares. These are too small to vinify separately, so François co-ferments them and ages the wine in a 2700L large oval cask. He also ages his villages wine in this fashion.
Cheers, Randall
“François Bertheau, who manages this 6.23 ha domaine (half of which is in villages-level vineyards), said in his typically understated laconic manner that 2022 had a "relatively easy growing season because even though it was exceptionally hot and dry, we had just enough rain at the right moments to prevent a damaging level of hydric stress. Yields were good if not really high at around 40 hl/ha with equally good potential alcohols that came in between 13 and 13.5% so the vinifications were straightforward and had no trouble finishing their sugars. In this sense they remind me quite a bit of my 2017s in both quantity and quality." Bertheau further noted that the 2022s would see about 20% new wood and reiterated that the wines are never fined or filtered.”
Allen Meadows, Burghound
