2016 Albert Bichot Secret de Familie Chardonnay Bourgogne 750 ml

Burgundy Dynasty’s Family Secret

Quality and longevity are synonymous with the Bichot name, and we don’t expect these bottles to last—so we’ll cut right to the chase: This little "Family Secret" is culled together from grape sources “around extremely well-located vineyards” on the outskirts of some pretty famous white Burgundy villages—St. Aubin, Meursault, and Puligny-Montrachet. Treated to the same winemaking script as these famous villages in the Côte de Beaune, low yields are gently pressed and the juice is aged in half stainless steel and half French oak, lending this value Chardonnay the creaminess and complexity of bottles 3x the price.

We’d add that this a remarkable baby white Burgundy. The Bichots, on the other hand, won’t tell you much about this “Secret” cuvée, because the truth is, they’re probably the only family with enough impressive land in the right appellations to pull something like this off. 

The family has lived in Burgundy since the 14th century and has been making outstanding wines there since 1831, giving them access to the region’s best vineyard sources—which allows them to offer wines like this at incredible prices. The current generation, led by Albéric Bichot, refuses to rest on its laurels, however. Albéric introduced organic viticulture in the family’s Côte d’Or vineyards and continues to push the envelope on quality. His efforts are tasteable even in this exquisite value white.

The Bichot family’s “Secret” white Burgundy demonstrates precisely how the storied terroir of the Côte d'Or, harnessed to its greatest potential through Bichot’s winegrowing and winemaking techniques, makes for one of the greatest value-driven gems of the 2016 vintage. Thanks to our longstanding relationship with the Bichots, and the fact that these are the last bottles in the country, we snagged this secret cuvée - $24 per bottle.

Now for a bit of good and bad news: The 2016 growing season in Burgundy produced a “seriously delicious vintage,” according to Master of Wine Jancis Robinson, however, “there is a serious shortage of wine,” due to several hail storms which devastated many vintners’ crops. Of the little that remained, the wines are pure, ripe, generous, concentrated, and lovely out of the gate. Burgundy collectors should lock in a couple of cases as this under-$30 stunner is going to continue to gain complexity over another 3-5 years in the cellar. 

Whether you’re a collector, or wine lover whose wine fridge just always seems to be empty, this is a great wine at a great price, and we know you’ll be happy to have several bottles for summer sipping—we’ll be drinking ours all summer long.