Tasting Notes: This was the first wine that Clément poured for us in April. “I think 2022 is very much like 2017, he told us, “where you had good equilibrium, finesse and balance. But I like the... 2022s a little more because they have a bit more density.” The Bourgogne comes from two parcels: one, a forty year-old vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin, and the other, an old parcel in Brochon, planted in the mid-1950s. Beginning in 2020, some of the Bourgogne has been matured in 1200 liter ovals, rather than small barrels, “because the bigger volumes retain more freshness, Clément says, “in what are now becoming hotter and drier vintages.” Jasper Morris, MW, called the Bourgogne 2022 “super succulent, with energy,” and Allen Meadows (Burghound) wrote that “it should repay several years of keeping,” and named it an “Outstanding Top Value.” When we tasted the wine with Clément in April, Terry wrote: “Juicy, fresh, just delicious. Yes, in quantity.” Read More
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Louis Boillot’s seven-hectare estate is half of the original Domaine Lucien Boillot of Gevrey-Chambertin. In 2002, the domaine was split equally between Louis and his brother Pierre, who continues operations at Domaine Lucien Boillot. But in 2003, shortly after their father’s retirement, Louis left the winery in Gevrey, and with his wife, Ghislaine Barthod, a famous and highly respected winegrower in her own right, purchased a lovely old house with a perfect, functional cellar in Chambolle-Musigny. Today, Ghislaine Barthod and Louis Boillot make their wines side by side in the same cellar. Both have unusually old vines; Ghislaine’s vineyards all in Chambolle-Musigny, and Louis’ in eight communes stretching the entire length of the Côte, from Fixin through Gevrey-Chambertin, all the way south to Volnay. Their son Clément will one day inherit a combined domaine that will be one of the greatest in all of Burgundy.
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Viticulture in Burgundy was well established by the second century AD, and likely predates the arrival of the Romans. By the late Middle Ages, the influence of the monastic orders had organized wine growing in Burgundy as nowhere else in Europe. It was the monks who recognized that certain individual vineyards consistently produced distinctive wine. Land reform came with the French Revolution, and the Code Napoléon abolished primogeniture, establishing that all inherited property be shared equally among siblings. As a result, the ownership of many of the finest vineyards is fragmented, with some growers owning just a few vines in many different vineyard sites. The appellation Bourgogne may cover innocuous bottlings from large négociants, or (rarely) wines of true distinction from small growers farming interesting vineyard sites that don't qualify for "higher" appellation status.
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The Pinot Noir grape is an ancient variety that has been grown for nearly two-thousand years in Burgundy, and is also famous for producing high-quality red wines around the world. This variety is known as being difficult to farm, due to its sensitivity to climatic conditions, such as wind and frost. The thin skins and tight conical grape bunches of Pinot Noir also make it susceptible to fungus and mildew. Some of the finest Pinot Noir wines are produced in cooler climate areas, and are characterized by a light body and complex aromas of earthiness and fruit.
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Roasted chickens, game birds, beef roasts, and filet mignon have all been wonderful with this wine.
