Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard is located in the Côte de Beaune, a rectilinear, tectonically formed ridge oriented northeast–southwest, separating the calcareous plateaux of the Hautes Côtes to the west from the Bresse plain to the east.
• The delimited plots are situated on the lower part of an east- to southeast-facing slope, at an altitude of approximately 250 metres, consistent with the 240–250 metres noted elsewhere.
• The bedrock, not visible at the surface, consists of thin-bedded Middle Jurassic (Callovian) limestones, concealed beneath an irregular accumulation of clayey colluvium relatively poor in limestone fragments.
• The climate has a cool oceanic tendency, tempered by continental or southerly influences channelled along the Rhône–Saône axis, with moderate rainfall of around 750 millimetres per year and a mean annual temperature of 10.5°C.
• The Côte, lying to the east of the Morvan massif and the Burgundy plateaux, benefits from a climatic shelter that translates into a notable thermal advantage and a marked rainfall deficit for the region.

• The name "Montrachet" appears as early as the thirteenth century at the lieu-dit "Mont Rachaz", though the site's true viticultural development dates from the eighteenth century.
• A 1921 ruling established the hierarchy of wines from Puligny-Montrachet, authorising wines from "Bâtard" to be labelled "Bâtard-Montrachet", preceding the recognition of the AOC in 1937 and 1939.
• The vines are trained at planting densities exceeding 9,000 vines per hectare, with the encépagement based on the Chardonnay grape variety.
• It is customary to age the wines for a minimum period of nine months in order to ensure their strong capacity for cellaring, in accordance with the characteristics of the vintage.

• The wines display a golden-yellow colour and combine great finesse with a harmonious roundness on the palate.
• The rich and complex aromas are reminiscent of hazelnut and honey, interwoven with floral notes, and the wines show a particularly long aromatic finish.

• The clayey soils contribute to the roundness of the wines, while the thin-bedded limestone bedrock ensures effective drainage of the terroir.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVB