Bouchard Père et Fils

Wine-growing company based in Beaune in the French Burgundy (must not be confused with Bouchard Aîné or Bouchard Finlayson). The company's building dates from the 15th century and is located near the city wall, with huge cellars located under the medieval fortifications. It was founded by the textile merchant Michel Bouchard in 1731; his son Joseph began by buying vineyards. Today the company is a wine trading house, négociant and producer. The company's own vineyards cover some 130 hectares in the Côte d'Or area in the appellations Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, or in many of the communal appellations such as Aloxe-Corton, Gevrey-Chambertin, Meursault, Montrachet, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Savigny-lès-Beaune. Of these, 12 hectares are classified as Grand Cru and 74 hectares as Premier Cru. There are unusually high percentages of the Grands Crus Le Montrachet (1.1 ha) and Chevalier-Montrachet (2.3 ha).

In the 1970s, quality problems arose and in the 1980s there was involvement in a wine scandal that was not fully resolved. In 1995, Jean-François Bouchard (the last of the family) sold the company, which had got into difficulties as a result, to Joseph Henriot of the champagne house of the same name. Burgundy connoisseurs attest great improvements in quality from the 1995 vintage onwards. For the even more extensive Négociant business, grapes, grape must and young wines are purchased and processed by contractual partners. In 1998 the renowned Chablis producer William Fèvre was acquired.