The Bouygues brothers did not buy Henri Rebourseau for its wines; they bought the domain for its vineyards. “This is both an old and a new domain,” says manager Bastien Giraud, who took over in 2023. The vines are old; but the approach is entirely new. (It’s a bit surprising given Rebourseau’s reputation as a perennial under-performer that the Bouygues haven’t changed the name.)

The domain was located in a gracious eighteenth century building set in 3 ha of gardens in the center of Gevrey Chambertin. Henri Rebourseau bought the property in 1919 to be the center of the family’s holdings.  His descendants (the de Surrel family) continued to own the domain until they sold a majority share to the Bouygues brothers in 2018 (reputedly for €45 million). The family retained the house, and the Bouygues built a splendid new winery just at the entrance to the property.

The new winery was completed for the harvest in 2023. “The old winery was a ruin,” Bastien says. Stones are glued on to an aluminum frame so the structure can breathe. The interior fitments are all wood. It seems very large for a 13 ha domain: perhaps there are plans to expand the vineyard holdings? An anti-flood drainage system is being installed around the winery.

The ground floor is filled with new open-topped wooden vats for fermentation (they were actually covered when I visited, because the roof was leaking, and Bastien did not want rainwater in the new vats). Underneath are two levels of  barrel cellars, one for even years, one for odd years. Upstairs there is gracious tasting room.

The domain has impressive holdings, with half in grand crus. There are 11 ha in Gevrey Chambertin, including 0.5 ha in Chambertin, more than 1 ha in Charmes Chambertin, 1 ha in Mazis Chambertin, 0.3 ha in Clos de Bèze. The 7 ha of village Gevrey is unusually mostly in a large block, with a 5 ha plot extending directly from the house and running across to the D974. Outside Gevrey, there are 2 ha in Clos Vougeot. Altogether there are 10 cuvées from premier or grand crus; 40% of production is from premier or grand crus, and 60% is from village Gevrey.

Almost everything has changed here, from viticulture to vinification. Strangely for a domain with top holdings, harvesting was mechanical; now it is manual. Different plots were merged for a single vinification for each appellation: the new winery allows each plot to be vinified separately. The plot in Clos Vougeot, for example, is right in the middle of clos, with quite varied soils; the different terroirs can now be vinified separately, and the wine may be improved by selling off the weaker lots instead of including them in the cuvée. Use of new oak was extensive, typically 70-100%, even for village wines, and the wines were highly extracted. Now extraction is much gentler and new oak has been cut back; the aim is around 30% for village wine, 40% for grand crus, and perhaps 50% for Chambertin or Clos de Bèze.

There’s significant investment in the best equipment: “the equipment when I got here was not the best,” Bastien says. A new destemmer has been purchased as well as a vibrating sorting table. (Bastien tried optical sorting in 2023, but says it does not wok very well with Pinot Noir because of the fragility of the grapes: “you send up selecting everything or nothing.”)

There are 3 cuvées of Gevrey Chambertin. The generic cuvée comes from 3-4 plots that are two small to make individual wines. The 5 ha plot at the winery  is divided into two parts. The northern half, Brunelle, has gravelly terroir with lots of small stones. The southern half, Corbeaux, has a lot of clay.

The style of the 2022s (made before Bastien took over) is quite primary, starting with the communal Gevrey. Brunelle is calmer and more structured, but the first real sense of sophistication comes with Fonteney, the largest of Rebourseau’s premier crus. Going to the grand crus, there is grater aromatic lift in Charmes Chambertin, which definitely plays to elegance rather than power. Mazis Chambertin, where Rebourseau’s holding is about 10% of the cru, is not as charming, but is denser and more structured. More forward than the cuvées from the Gevrey area, the Clos Vougeot shows more flavor variety and complexity, with fruits pushing the tannins back giving that impression of opulence of Vougeot, and feels the readiest to drink.

The Bouygues brothers own Château Montrose in Bordeaux and Clos Rougeard in the Loire. There is an interesting contrast with Henri Rebourseau. “At Clos Rougeard the objective was to keep the myth without the people (the Foucault brothers) who made it. Here (at Henri Rebourseau) we have to change the style,” Bastien says. This is now a domain to watch.

Tasting notes for 2022

Gevrey Chambertin
Quite a purple color, youthful aromatics on the nose, with a touch of asperity. Sweet ripe fruits feel very primary, as though this were a barrel sample not long out of fermentation. Tannins are not obtrusive (especially considering this is Gevrey). The brightness of the wine makes it seem like a barrel sample.    89 Drink 2027-2035

Gevrey Chambertin, Brunelle 2022
 This has something of the same primary character as the general Gevrey Chambertin, but is just a little bit calmer. It is not so bright, a little more structured and seems a  fraction more advanced in its development.    89 Drink 2027-2035

Clos du Fonteney
Same purple color as the general Gevrey Chambertins, but more reserved on the nose. This makes an altogether more sophisticated impression. Tannins in the background are firm but silky. This shows a youthful palate, all black fruits, inclined to cherries. It still has that rather primary character that marks the house style on release.    90 Drink 2028-2040

Charmes Chambertin
Round and ripe and a little primary. There is more aromatic lift than in the premier crus. Good acid balance to the palate. Tannins are extremely fine and silky. This has an elegance that is reminiscent of Chambolle or Morey: it is grand cru in its extreme elegance rather than in its power.    93 Drink 2028-2040

Mazis Chambertin
This is riper and denser than Charmes Chambertin with longer persistence. There are still some primary impressions. Tannins are firm but in the background with good grip on the palate. The impression is more structured than Charmes. Mazis is not as sleek as Charmes with t