Maison Albert Bichot & Domaine du Clos Frantin

The Bichot family have been in Burgundy, and more specifically in Beaune, for several generations, establishing themselves as one of the finest sources of wine in the region. But it has really been since Albéric Bichot took over the reins of the Company towards the end of the last century that they have moved themselves stealthily up to the top of the hierarchy of the various domaine / négociant hybrids that hold significant status in the region.

They own a large number of vineyards spread across most of Burgundy, and run each of the six domaines as autonomous entities, each with their own winemaker, albeit overseen by a head winemaker which is currently Alain Serveau, although 2022 will be his final vintage from start to finish as he finally hangs up his pipette. In fact, Alain’s own family vineyards are the source of several of the wines that come under the Albert Bichot label, which means even they are virtually domaine wines too.

Matthieu Mangenot, who was previously in charge at Domaine Long-Depaquit will take over from Alain in January. We have put together a selection of wines from the various estates which we were especially impressed by. Domaine du Pavillon is based just south of Pommard, with its own winery, built 7 years ago in 2016. It has 15 hectares, all of which are in the Côte de Beaune.

Everything is farmed organically, and the wines are encouraged to express their surroundings and their terroir. As well as the Domaine wines from Côte de Nuits that come under the Domaine du Clos Frantin umbrella,

Bichot top up their grander holdings with bought in fruit from some great parcels such as the ones below. As mentioned earlier, several of them come from Alain Serveau’s family’s holdings, whilst the others are from long established contracts with growers Alain respects. Based in Nuits-Saint-Georges, this 7.3 hectare domaine is blessed with some fantastic vineyards, more than half of which are 1ers and Grands Crus. It has been farmed organically since 2012 and in recent years has really upped its game.