Grape Collective Article—The Treasure that Lies Beneath Their Feet: Maison Albert Bichot on Taking Care of the Soil, from Chablis to Beaujolais

Excerpt (read the full article here):

The Burgundy wine region is considered the benchmark for top quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The grapes planted here are known for their ability to translate terroir (geology, weather, and other factors) into the taste of the wines. Fans of the region's wines often note how the gustatory characteristics, like acidity and fruit flavor, are strongly influenced by the specific parcel of land from which they originate. 

Burgundy’s distinctive wine culture dates back to the Middle Ages when Cistercian and Benedictine monks worked tirelessly to shape the vineyards of the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. Realizing the potential to differentiate each small plot of land according to its unique geographic and weather characteristics, they carefully classified the area into what are now known as climats. Needless to say, it took hundreds of years of rigorous trial and error to figure out what each tiny vineyard plot was capable of producing. 

Today, thanks to the monks' and successive generations' hard work, Burgundy’s terroir is defined by its 1,247 individual climats that are clearly identified by stone walls, hedgerows, fences and paths. In 2015, the climats were honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being “a unique and living conservatory of centuries-old traditions, an expression of the diversity of its terroirs and producer of wines.” (unesco.org)

Read my full Q&A article on Grape Collective about Maison Albert Bichot, a 190 year-old family-owned winery that is leading the way in Burgundy’s small but growing shift towards organic viticulture of its historic climats.

Photos: @domainesalbertbichot on Instagram.