Les Amoureuses And Bonnes-Mares From Bertheau: Your Next Red Burgundy Adventure

Charming Chambolle-Musigny

Two legendary vineyards, two impressive and underrated wines. This is what you have the opportunity to add to your portfolio right now - and this is at a price that is far from equal to the potential or the general market price at the moment.

In the middle of Burgundy's Côte de Nuits are the best red wine Villages. Of these, Chambolle-Musigny is ranked by many connoisseurs as one of the absolute best, along with Vosne-Romanée. Many legendary producers live and produce wines in Chambolle-Musigny: G. Roumier, Mugnier, Comte Georges de Vogue and then of course Francois Bertheau. Bertheau is considered by many to be a master at interpreting the region's soil with some extremely elegant wines. This makes, in combination with a very limited production from around three hectares of vineyard, Bertheau's wines very desirable.

In 2004, Francois took over the property from his father and now runs it in classic style. Francois Bertheau is aware that good wine is made in the vineyard, so this is where the great effort is made during the year. The vineyards are tended with great respect for nature with minimal impact on the fruit. The three hectares of vineyards are distributed in the most beautiful way in Chambolle municipality with 0.34 ha of the grand cru Bonnes-Mares as the jewel in the product portfolio. In addition, 0.32 ha on the premier cru Les Amouresses, whose classification does not do it honor, as it has the quality of a grand cru and often outshines these. In addition, the rest are Bertheau's vineyards spread over good vineyards with plots right next to Bonnes-Mares.

Les Amoureuses is one of the most coveted premier cru vineyards, where demand is at its peak and production is very low. In this investment tip you have the opportunity to not only invest in this unique premier cru but also Bertheau's top wine: Bonnes-Mares.

Reviews Of Domaine Francois Bertheau

The wines from Francois Bertheau are produced in such small quantities that many reviewers have not tasted them for several years. Wine Advocate has not assessed the vintages from 2008 to 2017 and has not yet tasted 2018 but was positive regarding vintage 2017. Burghound, which is the leading and perhaps most critical reviewer when we focus on Burgundy, has followed Bertheau throughout the years and is generally very positive. In addition, there is a clear trend that his ratings is increasing over the last couple of years, where for example Les Amoureuses has increased from 92 to 94 points in recent years.

The only one who has released notes of the 2018 vintage from Bertheau is Winehog who says:

“I have never seen the wines from Francois Bertheau shine as brightly as in this hot and variable vintage. The Bertheau 2018s are a hedonistic treat.”

Winehog is published by Danish Steen Öhman who has been travelling, tasting and recommending Burgundy since 1989. He is today recognized for his deep understanding of the area and its producers.

Les Amoureuses Premier Cru

Perhaps only in real competition with Cros Parantoux, Les Amoureuses is the most famous and prestigious premier cru-mark in Burgundy. The field is a direct extension of the mythical Musigny and is credited by many as being the little brother of this unique grand cru. In the cellar of the few producers who produce Les Amoureuses, it is often this wine that overshadows all others incl. grand cru wines, as in many cases it is with collectors and connoisseurs. Bertheau owns 0.32 acres of Amoureuses and produces only 1,200-1,400 bottles a year. This small amount from such a recognized vineyard makes this a gem to have in the collection - and one of that kind of wine world has not really opened its eyes to - yet.

Winehog: 93-95 - ”A splendid Amoureuses – bravo!”

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

Bonnes-Mares grand cru Bertheau is the wine that is absolutely the hardest to obtain. Bertheau owns just 0.34 ha of Bonnes-Mares just over 16 ha, which, as with Amoureuses, corresponds to an annual production of approx. 1,200-1,400 bottles - a very limited quantity for the global market. Both Wine Advocate and The Winehog express clear enthusiasm, and all indications are that Bertheau is heading towards the top of producers in the best part of Burgundy. As a grand cru mark, Bonnes-Mares has historically been a safe investment. Of the total wine production in Burgundy, only 2% is grand cru wine, which is always at the highest level. Bonnes-Mares is in this very category and Bertheau's version is among the absolute smallest productions and at the same time the most difficult to obtain.

Winehog 95-96: ”This is a refined Bonnes-Mares, one of the best wines I have tasted from Francois Bertheau so far.”

Bertheau's Top Wines Are Validated By Solid Returns

Francois Bertheau not only excels as a renowned wine producer, but also has the format to produce wines that, despite the lack of focus from the biggest critics, have been the focus of solid price increases - to the great enthusiasm of the investors who have already invested.

Below you will find returns on resp. Bertheau Bonnes-Mares and Les Amoureuses over a period of two and five years.

Of particular interest is the trend over the past two years, where these two wines have performed well despite a tumultuous world market with everything from international trade wars and the corona crisis. With this in mind, the future of these two wines looks extremely interesting seen through the glasses of the wine investor.

2018: A Difficult Vintage

Vintage 2018, which this investment tip deals with, is the latest released vintage from Domaine Francois Bertheau. This vintage was complicated due to severe heat in Burgundy, where it was a matter of pickingtime for the grapes. There is just no consensus among producers or reviewers on what was the right time. The fact is that it was a hot summer where the grapes quickly ripened. Later a little rain fell and there came a cooler period.

Those who picked early, before the maturity became too high, have been given upright wines in a classic style, which can be compared to the 2014 vintage and other beautiful vintages.

Those who waited were given wines with high alcohol and even more flavor intensity. They has produced wines that are not ready at all now, but which in the long run can develop fantastically. Some of these producers speak of a legendary vintage and compare with the 1947 vintage and other warm vintages.

It has not been possible to find valid information regarding Bertheau's harvest time. If it belongs to the former, the wines will be among the better secondary vintages such as vintage 2014. In addition, there is a potential upside in the fact that the wines can potentially develop into some of the best we have ever seen from Francois Bertheau.

RareWine Invest’s Opinion

Francois Bertheau is a classic Burgundy producer, and the story of the domain's Bonnes-Mares and Les Amoureuses are completely classic investment cases from Burgundy - and yet not quite.

Indeed, these are two wines from prestigious and highly acclaimed vineyards, produced in an extremely limited quantity of just up to 1,400 bottles of each a year.

What makes investing in Bertheau's Bonnes-Mares and Les Amoureuses even more interesting is that both the producer and these two wines have gone more or less under the radar among the biggest critics in recent years, and thus have not received the spotlight they otherwise would deserve.

Francois Bertheau's steer towards the top and seems impossible to knock off course, and due to the above, you as a wine investor can now invest in two wines from unique and highly sought after vineyards at a very attractive price - both in relation to the price on the world market, but even more compared to the potential of the wines.

Les Amoureuses is generally a premier cru case, which we have high expectations of, and compared to price and quality, Bertheau's edition looks attractive. In continuation of this, you also have the opportunity to invest in Bertheau's top wine, Bonnes-Mares, which makes it possible in the future to present the world's wine lovers to two different burgundy pearls from Bertheau.

The only challenge seems to be the very limited quantities.