Louis Boillot, Ghislaine Barthod – 2016

5.2.2018billn

Tasted with Clément Boillot-Barthod in Chambolle-Musigny, 31 January 2018.

Domaines Louis Boillot et Fils & Ghislaine Barthod
4 Rue du Lavoir
21220 Chambolle-Musigny
Tel: +33 3 80 62 80 16

Clément on 2017:
2017 was a very good harvest, and Volnay was one of the best corners of the year, as it was here that we saw the most advanced maturities of the year – 13.5° at over 40 hectolitres/hectare – we didn’t have that anywhere in the Côte de Nuits.

Clément on 2016:
No, not an easy vintage – lots of rain, lots of maladies and mildew on the grapes. We were a little touched by hail we are more north of the MAV appellation so losses of about 20-30%, but our Fleurie was lost. There was no frost in the Gevrey wines of the domaine – though I saw that there was some in Latricières. In Chambolle ​it ranged from 30% lower crop to losing everything – in the end we lost 60% here. The second half of the vintage allowed a good maturity and we harvested quite late – starting the 20 September – and all manual harvesting in Beaujolais – nothing more than 40 hl/ha – though it was more like 25 hl/ha in 2015.

The wines…

I found myself using the word ‘beautiful’ over and over again in my notes – but I’ve no regrets – it’s exactly what I thought: Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits ‘Côte de Moulin-à-Vent’ – just beautiful wines in 2016.

2016 ​Volnay Grand Poisots
Lost 70% in this vintage.
The nose is directly floral with pretty red fruits. Hmm, great depth of flavour here, the tannin is showing, though lots of ingraining flavour. Great concentration – this is clearly to wait for but with excellent material.

​2016 Volnay 1er Les Angles
A small part of about 80-year-old vines, the rest are closer to 40 – always early ripening here, so have to harvest quickly to keep acidity. A normal harvest here.
Less width, more depth of aroma. Ooh more direct, floral, complex wine. The structure is present hut balanced. This is a beauty!

2016 Volnay 1er Les Brouillards
A nose with more precision of red berry. More line again – a direct wine of delicate complexity. Such a different wine but only 50 metres away from the Les Angles – I love the great difference in character.

2016 Volnay 1er Caillerets
More width of aroma – pure, les weight but beautiful aromatic wine. Beautiful, transparent and layered on the plate too – all perfectly together. Great wine. Finesse, reserves of flavour – great wine.

2016 Pommard 1er Fremiers
Just one barrel – there’s only 1 barrel of Croix Noir too. Badly frosted.
A more compact nose, the palate too, to start with – but its concentrated, melting and layered – a powerful wine that opens with more floral notes – super. Be patient, but it’s great finishing.

2016 Pommard 1er Croix Noir
More clay in the soil here, and very old vines – 90 years old. Normally 4.5 barrels but just 1…
A big nose – very aromatic, floral and delicate but with depths of fruit too. Still some power here, flavour that’s open, transparent and with floral inflections, a modestly fine-grained tannin.

2016 Fixin
From Les Herbues but that’s not on the label, from 80 year-old vines.
Really deep nose, dark fruit. Beautiful shape and super texture, great concentration, delicious wine – such a great villages. Pure and beautiful in the creamy finish.

2016 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Evocelles
From the top of the hill next to Champeaux – almost no soil in places
Big, deep, subtly reduced. Wide, open with a nice freshness, still a hint of reduction, creamy finishing again – this is maybe the best finish so far!

2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Champonnet
A slightly reductive oak on the nose. Wide, layered, a fizzle of oak tannin but another wine that’s defined by great finishing flavour – again with some oak accenting it.

2016 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cherbaudes
Under Mazis, the oldest vines of the estate, they were 100 years old in 2012 – of course there are some replacements – but only about 15%…
A deep, multidimensional nose. Concentrated, but fresh, again multi-dimensional wine – great wine. For patience. But wow wine.

2016 Nuits St.Georges 1er Les Pruliers
‘A complicated wine, it’s always good, but sometimes its the best.’
A nice width of aroma, slightly saline. Big in the mouth, a subtle rendition of the grain of the tannin of Premeaux-side Nuits, but with beautiful fruit and beautiful presence.

2016 Moulin à Vent Vieilles-Vignes
Exactly same vinification and viticulture today as in Chambolle. 2016 was not a bad volume here – this wine is 2-3 parcels blended. Clément was worried how these wines tasted to start with but they just get better and better. He’s planning the bottling for the end February or into March.
A subtle width of aroma, relatively compact but highly attractive. Fine volume, more structure – very fine young wine.

2016 Moulin à Vent Les Rouchaux
Lots of sand here with bluestone.
A purer, more delicate, almost Volnay style of aroma. Ooh, beautiful, delicacy but at the same time, more mineral, with growing intensity and concentration. Great wine – ‘Would you guess it wasn’t pinot if I’d served it with the Gevreys?‘ smiles clement – maybe yes, but he has a point – great wine.

2016 Moulin à Vent Les Brusselions
Lower altitude than the last wine, more sand, more ‘arid’. 40% 1-2 year old barrels of which 10% new – some 500 litre barrels too. ​In this area they lost 40% in 2016 and 70% in 2017 – to the hail.
Ooh, this has more weighted width, saline accented. Nice volume here, really mouth-filling, more structure, multi-dimensional wine. Super. The price of this is one-third that of the Cherbaudes, ex cellar!

2016 Moulin à Vent Plantier de Favre
This was in the VV before, this the first time separated – 2-3 barrels worth.
A little extra cushion to the nose – and the fruit is beautiful. Round, a touch of cushioning, a little more depth of flavour, some mineral complexity again. Beautiful, and great finishing too.

A selection of Domaine Ghislaine Barthod:

2016 Chambolle-Musigny
Wide, pure florally complex. Fresh wode, alive, beautiful – such a beautiful, youthful smile – a face to fall in love with!

​2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Baudes
From just under Bonnes-Mares.
A beautiful, vibrant, mineral nose. Also mineral in the mouth, delicious, melting flavour – wow! And what a finish too.

2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Veroilles
The domaine holds the monopoly of 1er cru part of this vineyard – but it’s still quite small – only 0.30 ha – the villages part they share with Bruno Clair.
Deeper, less vibrant but no less inviting. Ooh – gorgeous – wow – more structured – so you have to wait. Clément’s favourite style in Chambolle every year. 96 is his absolute reference.
2016 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Les Cras
On white soil in the middle of the village. There’s some red soil too – that’s with Méo and Roumier.
Beautiful, a haunting width of aroma. Wide again, melting gorgeousness, density in the middle but never oppressive. And such a persistence, a density of finishing flavour – bravo!

And to finish:

2015 Moulin à Vent Les Rouchaux
A little tightness of aroma after the Cras, but it’s still a fine silkiness of aroma. Supple, a little mineral, complexity that stands absolutely after the Cras, less persistence but the Cras was exceptional in that respect – “I think that’s down to the lower acidity” says Clément, and for that reason he has a preference for the 2016 – “It’s not oranges and apples, its oranges and tangerines” he says…

2014 Moulin à Vent Les Rouchaux
More reduction – ‘it’s the plot – we have it only on this plot – and it’s through the elevage too.‘ A bigger aromatic though. More about texture than the framework, this is simply delicious, even following the 2015!

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

Burgundy Report

Translate »

You are using an outdated browser. Please update your browser to view this website correctly: https://browsehappy.com/;