Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The 2022 edition of Bouchard's Beaune du Château is deeply coloured and redolent of ripe blackberry and plum fruit with hints of earth, smoke, and spice. The great purity of the fruit aromas is allied with a seductive sweetness on the palate that leads to a firm, tannic structure and a lingering finish. The grapes are blended from 17 different premier cru climats in Beaune; roughly one-third are fermented as whole clusters, and the wine is ageing now in cask (one-third new) — altogether delightful.
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James Suckling
Attractive youthful nose of red fruits with delicate earthy undertones. Then comes the generous medium- to full-bodied palate where there's a beautiful interplay of ample healthy tannins and restrained richness, cherry pit and licorice flavors wrapped around a solid core at the finish. A cuvee of wines from most of the domaine's holdings in 17 Beaune 1er Cru sites that was created in 1907. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Some of the best terroirs of Beaune are blended together to produce the 2022 Beaune 1er Cru du Château, a medium to full-bodied, supple and pure wine evocative of peonies, sweet spices and red berries. This suave, seamless bottling concludes with a saline finish.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2022 Bouchard Père & Fils Beaune du Château Premier Cru Rouge reflects the finesse and structure that define great Beaune reds. This expressive wine offers layers of wild strawberries, fragrant spices, forest floor, and a touch of oak. Elegant yet grounded in its terroir, it pairs beautifully with roasted duck or a mushroom risotto. (Tasted: June 22, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Supple and round, this is laced with cherry, raspberry and floral flavors. Open until the finish, where a light dusting of tannins leaves a tactile feel. Flashes of sandalwood and earth add grace notes as this red lingers. Best from 2027 through 2038.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.