Maison Pierre Bourée Fils

Pierre Bourée founded the house in 1864 in Gevrey-Chambertin, when the village was still a relatively undervalued Côte de Nuits commune that would emerge across the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries as one of the apex Côte de Nuits anchors. Pierre's son Bernard Bourée renamed the house Pierre Bourée Fils in 1922 and acquired Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru the same year. The deeper turn in the house history came in 1945, when Bernard, without a direct heir, began training his nephew Louis Vallet to take over the operation. Louis was Bernard's nephew through Bernard's sister, and the Vallet family had already been linked to Gevrey through a separate acquisition: Louis Vallet's great-uncle had bought what would become the Clos de la Justice in 1901 as a then-unplanted parcel, then planted it and surrounded it with walls, calling it Clos de la Justice. The 1945 succession brought that parcel and the Bourée holdings under a single family direction.

• Founded 1864 by Pierre Bourée in Gevrey-Chambertin
• Son Bernard Bourée renamed the house Pierre Bourée Fils in 1922 and acquired Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru the same year
• Bernard had no direct heir; began training his nephew Louis Vallet to take over starting 1945
• Vallet family had already bought what would become Clos de la Justice in 1901 (great-uncle of Louis Vallet) and planted it

Since the 1945 Vallet succession, three generations of Valets have run the house. Louis Vallet directed the operation through the post-war decades and into the late twentieth century, then his sons Bernard and Jean-Christophe took over the contemporary direction. Jean-Christophe became sole director in 2019 and now runs the house with his sons Pierre Vallet and Louis Henry Vallet. The family openly notes the two-family history: Pierre Bourée founded in 1864, Bernard Bourée rebuilt and renamed in 1922 with no direct heir, and the Vallet family has run the operation since 1945. The house remains family-owned with three generations of Vallet direction layered on the original two generations of Bourée founding work. The historic cellars and offices are in Gevrey-Chambertin, with the house also maintaining a Beaune presence for the broader négociant range.

• Louis Vallet directed through the post-war decades into the late twentieth century
• His sons Bernard and Jean-Christophe Vallet took over contemporary direction
• Jean-Christophe Vallet has been sole director since 2019, with sons Pierre and Louis Henry now active in the house
• Two-family history: Bourée founders (1864-1945), Vallet direction since 1945; the operation remains family-owned

Production is structured as a hybrid domaine and négociant operation working exclusively from Côte d'Or fruit between Marsannay in the north and Santenay in the south. The two anchor estate holdings are the Clos de la Justice and Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru. The Clos de la Justice is the house's signature parcel: a 2-hectare Village monopole acquired in 1901 by Louis Vallet's great-uncle, named for its location near the former Gevrey scaffold, and bottled as a Gevrey-Chambertin Village (an INAO ruling in the late 1930s confirmed the Village classification despite the historic Clos label). Maximum production from the two hectares is around 12,000 bottles, though the stony, poor soils typically yield less. Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru (acquired 1922 by Bernard Bourée) is the senior estate Grand Cru bottling. The négociant range adds around 60 different wines across Côte d'Or appellations from purchased fruit under long-term grower contracts, including additional Grand Crus and Premier Crus throughout the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune. Estate production accounts for roughly one-third of total volume; négociant production for roughly two-thirds.

• Clos de la Justice: 2 ha Gevrey-Chambertin Village monopole (acquired 1901, planted and walled), maximum around 12,000 bottles
• Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru acquired by Bernard Bourée in 1922; the senior estate Grand Cru bottling
• Around 60 wines across Côte d'Or appellations from Marsannay to Santenay; estate ~1/3 of volume, négociant ~2/3
• Négociant range adds Grand Cru and Premier Cru bottlings across the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune from long-term grower contracts

The cellar approach has stayed traditional Gevrey across the multi-generational tenure. Hand-harvested fruit (estate or contracted) is sorted at the Gevrey-Chambertin winery. Largely destemmed fermentations run on indigenous yeast in stainless steel or older wooden vats; extraction is restrained, with gentle pump-overs and limited pigeage. The house signature is an extended élevage in French oak, typically 18 to 24 months and longer for the Grand Crus, in barrels averaging four to eight years old, with new oak used sparingly across the range. Wines are bottled without filtration. The style sits inside the traditional Gevrey reference rather than the more polished modern register: aromatically open, with the older-oak élevage giving textural depth and an earthy spice that reads as classic Côte de Nuits. The house also bottles a tiny Pinot Beurot (Pinot Gris) of around 400 to 500 bottles per vintage, a rare survivor in modern Gevrey.

• Hand-harvest sorted at the Gevrey-Chambertin winery; largely destemmed; indigenous-yeast fermentations in stainless steel or older wooden vats
• Restrained extraction with gentle pump-overs and limited pigeage; bottled without filtration
• Extended élevage in French oak, 18 to 24 months and longer for Grand Crus, in barrels averaging four to eight years old with sparing new oak
• Tiny Pinot Beurot (Pinot Gris) production of around 400 to 500 bottles per vintage, a rare survivor in modern Gevrey