Maison Bouchard Père et Fils

Maison Bouchard Père et Fils traces its origin to 1731, when Michel Bouchard, a cloth merchant from Dauphiné, established himself in Beaune. His son Joseph joined the business in 1746 and gradually shifted the activity from textiles to wine, buying the family's first vineyard in 1775 in the Volnay Premier Cru of Les Caillerets. The Bouchard Père et Fils name was formally adopted in 1785 with Joseph's son Antoine-Philibert-Joseph. The French Revolution and the subsequent biens nationaux sales were the decisive accelerant: when the church and noble estates of the Côte d'Or were auctioned off through the 1790s, Antoine-Philibert-Joseph bought aggressively in Beaune, acquiring among other parcels the now-iconic Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus in 1791, originally a Carmelite holding, along with parcels in Beaune Clos Saint-Landry and Beaune Les Teurons. The nineteenth century added the Château de Beaune as the firm's commercial seat under Bernard Bouchard in 1820, and progressive Premier Cru and Grand Cru acquisitions broadened the estate's geographic reach across the Côte d'Or.

• Founded 1731 by Michel Bouchard, a cloth merchant from Dauphiné settled in Beaune; son Joseph took up wine trading in 1746 and bought the first vineyard, Volnay Les Caillerets, in 1775
• Bouchard Père et Fils name formally adopted 1785 under Antoine-Philibert-Joseph, son of Joseph
• Post-Revolutionary biens nationaux sales (1790s) drove a major expansion in Beaune, with Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus acquired 1791 from former Carmelite holdings plus parcels in Clos Saint-Landry and Les Teurons
• Nineteenth century added Château de Beaune as commercial seat (Bernard Bouchard 1820) plus progressive Côte d'Or Premier Cru and Grand Cru acquisitions

The Château de Beaune is one of the most visible institutional symbols in the town and has served as Bouchard's commercial seat and cellar facility since 1820, when Bernard Bouchard purchased the property. The structure was commissioned in 1482 by King Louis XI as a defensive bastion at the southwestern corner of Beaune's city walls; construction was not completed until 1527, well after Louis XI's death in 1483. It was partially demolished under Henri IV at the request of the city's inhabitants, but four of its original five towers and substantial sections of the ramparts still stand and were listed as a historic monument in 1937. The Bouchard family installed wine cellars in the fortress soon after the 1820 purchase. The underground galleries run as deep as ten meters and house a museum collection of more than two thousand nineteenth-century bottlings, including a Meursault Charmes from 1846, one of the most institutionally significant cellar archives in Burgundy. The château remains the firm's tasting and commercial address, while contemporary vinification has taken place in the purpose-built Savigny-lès-Beaune winery since 2005.

• Château de Beaune commissioned 1482 by King Louis XI as a defensive bastion in the southwestern corner of Beaune's city walls; construction completed only in 1527 after Louis XI's death in 1483
• Partially demolished under Henri IV at the request of the city's inhabitants; four of the original five towers and substantial ramparts survive; listed as a historic monument since 1937
• Purchased by Bernard Bouchard in 1820 and converted to wine cellars; underground galleries run up to ten meters deep
• Museum cellar collection of more than two thousand nineteenth-century bottlings, including a Meursault Charmes 1846

Under Henriot ownership Bouchard farmed roughly 130 hectares across the Côte d'Or, spread across more than two dozen Premier Cru and ten Grand Cru appellations, and was widely cited as the largest privately classified vineyard holding in Burgundy. Four bottlings anchor the institutional identity. Two are full Beaune Premier Cru monopoles in the strict sense: the 3.36-hectare Clos de la Mousse, a Bouchard monopoly since 1872 with title traceable to a Notre-Dame de Beaune chapter bequest of 1220, and the 1.98-hectare Clos Saint-Landry, a white-only Premier Cru and one of the rare Beaune climats planted exclusively to Chardonnay. The third is the Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus, an approximately 3.91-hectare exclusivity within the Beaune Grèves Premier Cru acquired in 1791 from the dissolution of the Carmelite holdings, and the most-collected of the Bouchard Beaune Premier Cru wines. The fourth is the Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte cuvée, a Bouchard exclusivity from a small parcel of approximately one-fifth of a hectare on the Chevalier-Montrachet terraces, bottled separately under the La Cabotte name. Beyond these four flagships the estate has long been the largest Beaune Premier Cru owner overall, with the Beaune du Château cuvée (since 1907) blending up to seventeen different Beaune Premier Cru parcels for the red and a comparable white selection.

• Around 130 hectares across the Côte d'Or under Henriot ownership; 12 hectares Grand Cru, 74 hectares Premier Cru across more than two dozen appellations, balance in Village and regional
• Beaune Premier Cru monopoles in the strict sense: Clos de la Mousse (3.36 ha, monopoly since 1872) and Clos Saint-Landry (1.98 ha, white-only Chardonnay parcel)
• Bouchard exclusivities: Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus (about 3.91 ha, acquired 1791 from Carmelite holdings) and Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte (small Bouchard-owned parcel within the Grand Cru)
• Largest single Beaune Premier Cru owner overall; the Beaune du Château cuvée (since 1907) blends up to seventeen Beaune Premier Cru parcels for the red

By the early 1990s the Bouchard firm had passed into a period of commercial weakness, and in 1995 Joseph Henriot of the Champagne Henriot family bought the business outright from the Bouchard family. The Henriot era ran from 1995 through 2022 and produced a thorough institutional revival: a new state-of-the-art winery at Savigny-lès-Beaune opened in 2005, the cellar work at the Château de Beaune was renewed under Philippe Prost (technical director through the early 2010s) and then Frédéric Weber (joined 2002, technical director since 2016), and the broader Maisons et Domaines Henriot group grew to include Bouchard Père et Fils, Domaine William Fèvre in Chablis (acquired 1998), Maison Henriot in Champagne, and Beaux Frères in Oregon (acquired 2017). Joseph Henriot died in 2015 and his nephew Gilles de Larouzière Henriot led the group until 2022. In late September of that year the Pinault and Henriot families announced a merger whereby François Pinault's Artémis Domaines took a majority stake (around three-quarters) in the combined Maisons et Domaines Henriot group, with the Henriot family retaining a minority interest. Artémis Domaines already owned Château Latour (Bordeaux), Château Grillet (Northern Rhône), Domaine d'Eugénie (Vosne-Romanée, established by Pinault in 2006 from the René Engel estate), Domaine du Clos de Tart (Morey-Saint-Denis, acquired 2017), and Eisele Vineyard (Napa Valley, acquired 2013), and the Bouchard acquisition added the largest classified holding in Burgundy to that portfolio.

• Joseph Henriot acquired Bouchard 1995 from the Bouchard family; new winery at Savigny-lès-Beaune opened 2005; Frédéric Weber joined 2002 and became technical director in 2016
• Maisons et Domaines Henriot group expanded to include Bouchard, Domaine William Fèvre (Chablis, 1998), Maison Henriot (Champagne), and Beaux Frères (Oregon, 2017)
• Joseph Henriot died 2015; nephew Gilles de Larouzière Henriot led the group until 2022
• October 2022 merger announcement: Artémis Domaines (Pinault family) took an approximately three-quarter majority in the Henriot group, with Henriot family retaining a minority; Artémis portfolio at that point included Château Latour, Château Grillet, Domaine d'Eugénie, Domaine du Clos de Tart, and Eisele Vineyard

In January 2025 Artémis Domaines announced a comprehensive restructuring of the Bouchard estate from the 2023 vintage. Three changes are central. First, Bouchard withdrew from the Beaune en primeur system from 2023, releasing the 2023 wines only in March 2026 after additional cellar aging; the 2022 vintage was re-released alongside a museum tranche of older bottlings to bridge the gap. Second, Bouchard exited the négociant trade, which had accounted for roughly sixty percent of historical volume, reducing total production by sixty to seventy-five percent compared to the previous five-year average (from around 1.8 to 2 million bottles annually down to roughly 500,000). Third, the top thirty-five hectares of Grand Cru and Premier Cru holdings, including Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte, parcels on the Corton hill, Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus, Volnay Caillerets (the founding parcel from 1775), and several Meursault Premier Crus, were routed into a new sister label called Domaine des Cabottes, with first releases under that name from the 2023 vintage; the Bouchard Père et Fils name now covers roughly 65 hectares concentrated in Beaune, Meursault, Pommard, and Volnay. The Côte de Nuits holdings, including Bonnes-Mares, Chambertin, Échezeaux, Chambertin Les Cazetiers, Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles, and Chambolle-Musigny Village, were transferred to Artémis-owned Domaine d'Eugénie in Vosne-Romanée. Frédéric Weber leads winemaking across both the Bouchard and Cabottes labels.

• January 2025 announcement of comprehensive restructuring from the 2023 vintage: en primeur withdrawal, négociant exit, and creation of Domaine des Cabottes
• Total Bouchard production cut by roughly 60 to 75 percent (from 1.8 to 2 million bottles down to roughly 500,000) following the négociant exit
• About 35 hectares of top Grand Cru and Premier Cru parcels routed to Domaine des Cabottes (Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte, Corton parcels, Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus, Volnay Caillerets, several Meursault Premier Crus); 2023 first vintage released March 2026
• Côte de Nuits parcels (Bonnes-Mares, Chambertin, Échezeaux, Chambertin Les Cazetiers, Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Cailles, Chambolle-Musigny Village) transferred to Artémis-owned Domaine d'Eugénie; Bouchard Père et Fils now concentrated in roughly 65 ha of Côte de Beaune across Beaune, Meursault, Pommard, and Volnay