Domaine François Bertheau is located in Chambolle-Musigny. The 6 hectare estate is planted with approximately 50-years old vines. The winemaker is François Bertheau, exceptionally meticulous and in some ways quite old-fashioned in his vineyard work. Purist in style, François focusses on the peculiarities of his terroirs, he wants his Chambolles to be identified as such. His wines emphasize finesse, elegant aromatics and silky textures, they are very soft in style. François Bertheau follows a sustainable approach of winemaking.

As well as several excellent premiers crus, the Domaine also makes Bonnes Mares Grand Cru and Chambolle-Musigny Village. Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2005 scored 94+, Chambolle-Musigny Village 2005 scored 92 by the Wine Advocate. Robert Parker comments on Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2005: “The Bertheau 2005 Bonnes Mares displays incense and smoke on the nose, along with herbal concentrate and bitter-sweet black raspberry and cassis. A savage raw berry intensity takes over on the palate, over which a load of salt, chalk, and finely-grained tannin are subsequently spread. This finishes with smoky, smoldering intensity along with moss, peat, and a decidedly bitter side of black fruits and herbs. I’m prepared to believe it might be suffering slightly from its recent bottling and capable of more charming generosity at some point in the next few weeks. Certainly it is a wine to cellar for 6-8 years if not longer”.

Since 2006 François Bertheau -the fifth generation at Domaine François Bertheau, is the winemaker of the domaine.

The roots of the domaine go back to 1989, when it got an international recognition. At that time Pierre Bearthau was the winemaker, and Robert Parker granted the domaine with a higher ranking than Domaine Comte de Vogué.

The approach of François Bertheau remains unchangeable throughout the history of the domaine. The winemaker focuses on soil health and its biodiversity in the vineyards. He follows the principles of sustainable winemaking and practices a non-interventionist approach in the cellar.

François Bertheau spends most of his time in the vineyard, where the winemaking starts. Average vine age is 50 years old, with systematic replacement of dead ones. The grapes are all destemmed then fermented without the addition of cultured yeasts.

The fermentation occurs without the addition of cultured yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats. Very little pigeage and remontage are done to avoid an overbearing extracted style.

Aging follows with minimal racking in the cellar. The amount of new oak seldom exceeds 10 percent.