Our story, vineyards and men
In the South of France, in the heart of the Languedoc , the estate of BACHELLERY spreads along the ancient Via Domitia, facing the Mediterranean sea. The region of Beziers has been an area of country civilization since antiquity, producing wheat, vine and olive trees
On the early 80’s the Domaine was bought by the JULIENS, a family who counts five generations of winegrowers. For over 25 years now, Bernard JULIEN has been ruling the estate, renewing the vineyard and vinifying his “cuvées” by himself. From 2005, Yannick Julien is in charge of the winemaking of the wines of the estate and Brice Julien of the commercial part of the farm, the two of them perpetuate the fifth line of winemakers in the family...
A bit of history
The Domaine of BACHELLERY is a very old estate, listed in the City’s records since the Middle Ages. Jacques de Bachelier, the President of the Royal Court of Justice of Béziers, settled with his family in 1548 in this beautiful “bastide” of the XVth Century and gave his name to the Domaine. Later, BACHELLERY became the property of the powerful Priory of Cassan.
It belonged to the Church until the French Revolution, then was bought by rich families of the region. The Domaine built up the reputation of its wines throughout the times. As an anecdote, in the XIXth Century, the Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral, when he came to Béziers, used to stay at Bachellery’s and specially appreciated the Tokay wine of the Domaine. He wrote quite a nice poem painting Bachellery’s wine as “un beau et fringant jeune homme” (a pleasant and dashing young man)…
THE CLIMATE
Béziers’ area is one of the driest in the Languedoc Roussillon, spreading along the foothills of the Massif Central and so exposed to winds of different origins, like the Tramontane coming down from the North West, which is very dry and sometimes a quite violent wind, and a wind coming from the South-East, carrying stormy rainfalls in the average rainfall here reaches 450 to 550 mm a year.
THE TERROIR
Béziers is located on the first hills, 70-meter high, parallel with the coast, on Quaternary terraces. This is a clayey and chalky “terroir”, with a lot of pebbles and even stones some times. This type of soil is distinctive of many “grands crus” of the Languedoc Roussillon as it is the most qualitative and a request for classifying Béziers’ area as an A.O.P. zone has been stated for over twenty years now.
The Vineyard
For two decades now, Bernard JULIEN has been planting about twenty different grape varieties, five of which with an exceptional agreement of the Ministry of Agriculture. This diversity makes Bachellery’s vineyard a French peculiarity.
The varieties
Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Cinsault, Egiodola, Gewurztraminer, Grenache, Malbec, Marsanne, Merlot, Muscat d’Alexandrie, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Roussanne, Sauvignon blanc, Syrah, Tempranillo …
Our wines
The red wines here are excellent, very rich and concentrated, and they offer natural potential and characters of long ageing. Elegant and fine white wines, fruity and crispy rose wines make the BACHELLERY’s range a complete offer. The wines are vinified with the greatest care, so as to preserve the aromas’ freshness. The ageing of the wines is achieved into modern tanks or merrain-oak barrels.
CONTACT
Route de Bessan
34500 Béziers
Phone number
+33 04 67 62 36 15
direction@julien.vin