2017 Jean Claude Bachelet Offer

2017 Jean Claude Bachelet

For today, we have a producer so crisp, so clear, so fresh, I feel like I am licking the air in Nepal. Bachelet was one of the first white Burgundy producers I discovered that gave me an aha moment, in particular for the Saint Aubin designations which they had, showcasing just how interesting, unique and diverse these wines could be. Years later, they are better than ever and still at the top of their game.  

Here is some info: Jean-Baptiste Bachelet and his brother, Benoit farm biodynamically, although the winery is not certified. In the cellar, they work with the least intervention possible. They moved into a new and larger cellar in 2010, allowing them to keep the wines in the cellar for two winters, which they feel gives a better expression of terroir.  2017 was not without its challenges. They were vigilant about lighting candles at the right moment over two weeks to prevent frost damage in the spring. And there was mildew pressure because of rain, but Jean-Baptiste feels that they have learned to minimize its impact now having several years of working with organic treatments. All in all, they were down 15 - 20% compared to a normal vintage. 2017's have vibrant fruit and great energy, showing the transparency of terroir of each site. DO NOT MISS!

 

This is an excellent vintage for Benoît and Jean-Baptiste Bachelet, whose wines seem to go from strength to strength. The style here is textural and concentrated but reliably controlled by succulent balancing acids—perhaps best briefly characterized simply as classically balanced—with the brothers picking in a timely fashion but eschewing extremes. The grapes are sometimes but not systematically crushed before pressing, followed by overnight settling and fermentation in wood—both barrels and demi-muids—with occasional bâtonnage until conclusion of malolactic fermentation. The wines see two winters on the lees before bottling. The results are routinely superb, and readers unfamiliar with this disarmingly discrete Saint-Aubin domaine are warmly encouraged to seek out their wines.

 

• 10% off 6, 15% off 12
• Ready for Delivery End of January

Whites


2017 JC Bachelet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru "Les Champlots" Blanc
Newsletter Price: $67.99
BH 88-91: Here too there is a whiff of matchstick character lurking on the pretty nose that features essence of pear and a hint of mandarin orange. The attractively textured and more concentrated medium-bodied flavors possess a lovely minerality, all wrapped in a better balanced finale.

2017 JC Bachelet Saint-Aubin 1er Cru "Le Charmois" Blanc
Newsletter Price: $67.99
BH 89-92: Once again there is a whiff of matchstick character sitting atop the very fresh nose of pear, apple, apple and floral hints. The finer if less mineral-driven medium weight flavors possess a highly attractive texture, all wrapped in a clean, dry and bitter lemon-inflected finish. This needs more depth though the underlying material appears to offer a very good probability that more will eventually develop.

2017 JC Bachelet Puligny-Montrachet "Les Aubues" 
Newsletter Price: $91.99
BH 89-91: Notes of petrol, acacia and an interesting lemon-lime element serve as a pretty introduction to the succulent, even opulent, medium-bodied flavors that possess good verve that carries over to the lingering finish that tightens up as it sits on the palate. This is not an elegant Puligny villages but it's still quite good and I particularly like the excellent depth.


2017 JC Bachelet Chassagne-Montrachet "Les Encegnieres"
Newsletter Price: $89.99
BH 89-92: A markedly different aromatic profile presents notes of resin, rosemary oil and petrol that add breadth to the ever-so-slightly exotic nose. There is excellent volume for a villages level wine on the medium-bodied flavors though not the same refinement; indeed there is a trace of rusticity suffusing the powerful, driving and impressively complex finish. This is no model of elegance but it nonetheless has plenty to offer.

2017 JC Bachelet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Macherelles" 
Newsletter Price: $106.99
BH 89-92: Notes of wood and reduction presently dominate the fruit but I doubt that either will last for long. By contrast there is a lovely sense of underlying tension to the notably rich middle weight plus flavors that deliver equally good length if not quite the same depth on the mildly warm finish.

2017 JC Bachelet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "La Boudriotte"
Newsletter Price: $119.99
BH 90-92: A mildly toasty nose includes a hint of vanilla on the liqueur-like aromas of pear, apple and resin. There is excellent volume and power to the medium weight flavors that aren't as big as they usually are yet there is surprisingly good refinement on the balanced and solidly complex finish. This is really quite good.

2017 JC Bachelet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Blanchot Dessus (Extremely Limited)
Newsletter Price: $199.99
BH 91-93: Once again there is a whiff of petrol present on the ripe and beautifully fresh nose of white orchard fruit, lavender and soft wood nuances. There is fine volume and muscle to the notably more concentrated broad-shouldered flavors that display excellent power and drive on the firmly structured finish. This is packed with development potential and a wine that is going to need at least some patience.