2017 Albert Bichot Saint-Veran AOC 750 ml

You expect value wine to be charming. You might not expect it to be memorable. But the 2017 Albert Bichot Saint-Véran somehow became one of the highlights of our annual autumn trip to Burgundy.

We were coming off a four-day marathon of proper tastings, business lunches, and long, multi-course dinners in the Côte d'Or, when our importer friend (and driver) Quentin couldn’t take it anymore: “We’re eating real food tonight.” Too exhausted to make decisions of our own anymore, we let him handle the menu and wine list that night at Beaune’s beloved bistro Ma Cuisine, even though we knew that meant no Grand Cru pairings. 

Sure enough, a vaguely familiar bottle of €23-ish white Burgundy soon appeared and we were ready to settle in for a blissfully uncomplicated table wine when something unexpected happened—it was amazingly delicious.

Rather than the serviceable, one-note Chardonnay we were expecting at that price, we instead got vibrant white floral and acacia aromas followed by a palate parade of freshly-picked Meyer lemon, crisp green apple, and a minerally frame of roasted hazelnut. It was so lively, so generous and mouthwatering, with such a lingering finish, we all snapped out of our tired haze to ask, “Sorry, how is this so good?” Quentin just smiled.

Then, Quentin revealed his secret and showed us the bottle: This was an Albert Bichot wine. 

This is precisely why we go to Burgundy—for chance encounters like these that would never otherwise occur at home. A select few established producers like Bichot are still sleepers by U.S. standards. Bichot’s 2017 Saint-Véran set us straight. We had to drag Quentin to the vineyard for one last jaunt the next day before our flight (and before we secured all we could). 

The Saint-Véran AOC is in Burgundy’s Mâcon region, surrounded by Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards. Long considered among the greatest values in all of Burgundy, Mâcon AOC and Saint-Véran wines are marked by freshness, charm, and sunshine-flecked terroir. But thanks to producers like Bichot who have taken a keen, hands-on interest in its viticulture, the region has started to take itself a bit more seriously.

In fact, we learned that Saint-Véran is currently—and justifiably—seeking Premier Cru recognition for some of their vineyards. This would be a first in any Mâcon AOC, thanks to historical reasons that have nothing to do with quality:

Southern Burgundy did not, in fact, receive any Premier Cru classifications following the creation of the AOCs in 1936, thanks to its World War II position south of the Free France demarcation line during the Occupation. Just to the north, the German army had been instructed to requisition for its troops all the wines that were not Premiers Crus. Suddenly, the appellations north of the line had a great number of small local areas classified as Premiers Crus, while the south—including Saint-Véran—went on making great wine that never became overvalued as a result of an arbitrary classification. Hence why this white Burg costs less than half of what it might otherwise be worth had its vines also fallen into German hands during the war.

The Bichot family has seen plenty of history pass through Burgundy, with roots in the region that go back to 1350 (making Louis Latour’s 1797 founding seem relatively recent). In 1831, Albert Bichot founded the Maison and six generations later, it is still an independent family company, run by Albéric Bichot. Albéric’s fervent tenure is the reason Bichot has been quietly upping the quality game.

Europe has noticed, with multiple Winemaker of the Year awards from Le Journal de Paris and Wine International Challenge and the prestigious International Trophies from Decanter World Wine Awards.

We’re thrilled that our chance encounter with Bichot’s 2017 Saint-Véran in Beaune resulted in our ability to secure exclusive, first-to-market pricing on such a stellar white Burgundy value. Get in now, before the price of this Saint-Véran catches up with its quality.