Bachelet-Monnot Maranges 1er Cru Les Clos Roussots 2023

Bachelet-Monnot Maranges 1er Cru Les Clos Roussots is the domaine's first bottling from this premier cru, made possible by a new lease that took its holding past half a hectare.

Maranges is the last appellation of the Côte de Beaune before the Côte Chalonnaise, and Les Clos Roussots is its best-known premier cru, a direct continuation of Santenay's Clos Rousseau across the commune boundary. The Bachelet family has owned vines here for decades, but the parcel was too small to vinify on its own and the fruit went into the village wines instead. A fermage agreement from 2022 lifted the total surface enough for a single cuvée. The vineyard has a band of hard limestone beneath brown marl, which keeps the wines firm and savoury rather than broad. Marc and Alex Bachelet fermented this with 60% whole bunches and added no sulphur until racking, an unusually hands-off approach for the estate.

Drinking from two or three years and holding for eight to ten. Serve at 16-18°C with roast pork, coq au vin or a mushroom pie.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.

Type: Red Wine
Style: Medium-bodied, Aromatic, Fine-grained
Grape Varietal: Pinot Noir
Tastes Like: Comparable to a fine Pinot Noir, but more savoury and earthy than a fruit-driven New World example
Alcohol Percentage: 13%
Closure: Cork
Size: 750mL
Appellation: Maranges 1er Cru AOC
Region: Maranges, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Terroir: Limestone-rich slopes at the Santenay end of the appellation
Aging: Raised in used casks before a period in cement vat, with a proportion of whole bunches
Serving Temperature: 16–18℃ – Serve slightly below room temperature

The Bachelet brothers are better known for their Chassagne and Puligny whites, but have built a substantial holding in Maranges, now three hectares with an average vine age of sixty years. The aim throughout has been a finer, more aromatic style of red from the Côte’s southern reaches.

Maranges lies at the far southern end of the Côte de Beaune, next to Santenay, and has long been overlooked; the appellation’s reds are increasingly worth attention as growers there work with more precision. Les Clos Roussots sits at the Santenay end of the appellation, on limestone-rich slopes, and is among the crus that make the case for Maranges most convincingly.

Pork: Perfect with roast pork, smoked sausage or a Burgundian potée
Poultry: Excellent with coq au vin, roast chicken or guinea fowl
Mushroom: Pairs beautifully with a mushroom pie, ceps or morels
Charcuterie: Ideal with terrines, jambon persillé and cured meats

Cîteaux: A Burgundian abbey cheese, supple and savoury alongside the wine
Soumaintrain: Washed rind and gently pungent, meeting the wine’s earthiness
Comté: Nutty and firm, softening the wine’s tannin
Chaource: Soft and lactic, complementing the wine’s lighter frame

Potée Bourguignonne (Burgundian Pork and Vegetable Hotpot)

Ingredients (Serves 6):

• 800g smoked pork shoulder or collar
• 4 Morteau or other smoked sausages
• 200g smoked bacon in one piece
• 1 small savoy cabbage, quartered
• 4 carrots, halved lengthways
• 3 turnips, quartered
• 6 potatoes, halved
• 2 leeks, cut into lengths
• 1 onion studded with 3 cloves
• 1 bouquet garni
• Cracked black pepper
• Dijon mustard, to serve

Instructions:

1. Put the pork shoulder and bacon in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring slowly to the boil.
2. Skim the surface thoroughly, then add the clove-studded onion and bouquet garni.
3. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 90 minutes.
4. Add the carrots, turnips and leeks and cook for a further 20 minutes.
5. Add the potatoes and the sausages and cook for 20 minutes more.
6. Blanch the cabbage separately in salted water for 10 minutes so it keeps its colour, then add it to the pot to warm through.
7. Season with plenty of cracked pepper. The smoked meats should provide enough salt.
8. Lift everything onto a warm platter, moisten with a little broth and serve with Dijon mustard.

The winter dish of the Burgundian countryside, and a natural fit for Maranges. These are reds built for the table rather than the cellar: enough structure to handle smoked pork, and enough freshness to work with cabbage, turnip and a sharp spoonful of mustard.