Albert Bichot

The six estates

Between them the six estates run from Chablis in the north to Beaujolais in the south, and each has its own winery, cellar and team.

Domaine Long-Depaquit in Chablis is the biggest of the six, at about 65 hectares according to a 2020 Le Monde profile. It includes several Grands Crus and the Moutonne monopole, and it has been certified HVE level 3 since 2019.

Domaine du Clos Frantin in Nuits-Saint-Georges has 13.2 hectares in the Côte de Nuits, and its holdings include Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot and other Grands Crus. It is farmed organically. Château-Gris, also in Nuits-Saint-Georges, covers 3.4 hectares.

Domaine du Pavillon in Pommard has 19.5 hectares on the south side of the village. An 18th-century manor, the winery and the cellar sit inside a walled vineyard, and the estate includes nearly 4 hectares of the Pommard Clos des Ursulines monopole. It is farmed organically, and the winery was modernised in 2016 so that more single vineyards could be vinified separately.

Domaine Adélie in Mercurey has 7.4 hectares in the Côte Chalonnaise. It is named after Albéric Bichot's daughter, born in 2003, and has been certified organic from the 2018 vintage. Domaine de Rochegrès in Moulin-à-Vent has 4.9 hectares in Beaujolais.

History

The Bichot family's roots go back to 1214, and the family settled in Burgundy in 1350 at Châteauneuf-en-Auxois. Its coat of arms carries a doe, “biche” in French, a pun on the family name that hasn't changed since.

Bernard Bichot's son Hippolyte bought the first vines, in Volnay, already convinced that the house needed to control its own grapes. Hippolyte's son, the first Albert Bichot, built the business up in the late 19th century. The second Albert Bichot, born in 1900, took the wines abroad, travelling across North America, Asia and Oceania.

In the second half of the 20th century his four sons, Albert, Bernard, Bénigne and Jean-Marc, built a large ageing cellar, a bottling centre and a winery. Albéric Bichot joined in the early 1990s after time on expeditions, including in the Canadian far north and Antarctica. Since taking over he has bought more vineyards and pushed the estates towards organic farming, and the house has expanded its winemaking capacity and ageing cellars from 2010.

The Hospices de Beaune

The Hospices de Beaune charity wine auction has been held every November since 1859. Bichot says it has been the leading buyer for over fifteen years. The house was also a founding patron of the bid that put Burgundy's climats on UNESCO's World Heritage List on 4 July 2015.

Farming and winemaking

Bichot describes its approach as sustainable: ploughing, organic fertiliser, as much handwork as possible, and close watching of the vines. It holds its partner growers to the same standards and sets them targets for grape health, yields and ripeness. The estate managers talk about respect for the terroir rather than any one system.

In the cellar, Bichot says it intervenes as little as possible. The oak comes from different forests, such as Tronçais and Allier, with varying toasts. The Beaune winery, renovated in 2008, makes the regional appellation wines using the same methods as the estates.