Tasted in Meursault with Guillaume Lavollée, 22 May 2024.
Domaine Génot-Boulanger
25 rue de Citeaux
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 49 20
www.genot-boulanger.com
Guillaume’s Instagram
More reports with Domaine Génot-Boulanger
Guillaume on 2022:
“The last bottling was done yesterday for the 22s… I’m not just very happy – I’m enchanted by the vintage – and no colour dominates. A year that was clean and simple in the vines, nice grapes with easy fermentations – all the small details were in a good place. As for the market, it’s a little up and down – cyclic – down a little in France but the recent weather hasn’t helped either. Exports are very good though, and let’s not forget that we have 5x more wine to sell here in 2022 vs 2021 – despite 2022 not being a ‘full’ vintage…”
Guillaume on 2023:
“23 was more stress – and not all the malos are yet done. My impressions are domainated by the reds right now but the result is supremely satisfying at this stage… We won’t touch them, we will just follow the wines for now…”
The wines…
Confident, sometimes great reds – but even more often great whites – they should be very proud result, I think…
2022 Mercurey 1er Les Saumon
Young vines – planted in 2016
Breadth and freshness of aroma – there’s a darkness to this red fruit. This has a nice mouth-filling volume and flavour energy – just a tiny, non-drying, grain of tannin that underpins the flavours – give it 2 years – very tasty.
2022 Volnay
3 parcels assembled here.
Not completely open but there’s an obvious class to this attractive red fruit aromatic. I like the extra mouth-filling architecture of this wine – also a tiny grain of ripe tannin. Finishing with a classy fading line of mainly red fruit…
2022 Pommard Vieilles-Vignes
Three parcels again – each, usually, with separate elevage – 50% Cras (1930s vines), plus Vignots and Chanière – over 2 ha in total. Since 2017 100% destemmed before that there were multiple tests with whole clusters. This year all vinified together
Deeper due to a tiny reduction but there’s really lovely clarity too. Also some reduction in this width of flavour – I really like the mobile, faintly cushioned, style of this flavour. That’s going to be very high class villages – certainly excellent, possibly even better than that
2022 Beaune 1er Grèves
1 ha – the oldest vines of the domaine – south of the climat, high up just under the Clos St.Anne
Modest depth of colour. A pretty and complex clarity of aroma – super. Composed, slowly widening. Faintly grained again, more overtly red-fruited than the Pommard. An easy concentration – almost a modest generosity to this texture then finishing with some complex bitters. Keep 5 years and be rewarded…
An airy width of aroma, almost a hint of florals in these higher tones. Fluid but direct, mobile and complex, juicy – top Volnay. That’s a great wine…
2022 Aloxe-Corton Clos du Chapitre
In les Meix with Franck Folin-Arbelet – half each in this 2ha clos – the soil dominated by its limestone.
A hint less width but there’s more depth to compensate – and very pretty red fruit. Mouth-filling – there’s tons of energy here and large-scale flavours too. The finish with modest bitters so keep 2-3 years but that should be enough.
2022 Corton Les Combes
A vertical nose with beautiful higher tones – not a large nose but a very inviting, perfumed, one. Hmm, that’s wonderful in the mouth, airy, fluid but complex and cool I’d be happy drinking this perfumed wine before the Aloxe. Simply excellent wine.
2022 Chambolle-Musigny
Mombies et Nazoires – 1/3 young vines the rest from 50s and 60s – 2 parcels from very limestone soils.
Here is extra aromatic volume, a faint floral cushion too. Great scale and structure – it reminds (in shape) of the Corton – and it’s not visibly less concentrated either. The width and depth of the complex finish is simply excellent again – it’s a beautiful villages.
The deepest soil of CV – Baudes Basses – bottom left. Nearest the road is the deepest clay, higher on the slope it becomes lighter and shows more limestone. Bottled not quite 24 hours…
Hmm – there is a clear extra floral dimension to this nose – a nose of enviable clarity. The fluidity of the Corton from this also ‘austere’ terroir – do you remember that word? This melts gorgeously over the palate and it’s another wine that is far too accessible for its grand cru terroir – fabulous – and what a persistent mouth-watering finish too!
Les Blancs:
Each white has 1 new barrel made from the remaining wood from trees of their own forest – ‘the remainder’ because the bulk of the wood was used to make a foudre:
2022 Beaune En Lulune
1.2 ha now all white, they had some red here previously.
Ooh, that’s a broad wine with a ripeness of fruit at the core without losing the essence of freshness. An almost pineapple accent to this energetic – faintly reductive style of wine that reminds of Pernand. Super wine…
Equal parcels each of Goudoulettes, Golardes and Saucours blended – making about 0.5 ha
A more open nose – airy almost. Hmm – love this more direct, almost incisive, certainly with a beautiful clarity and growing intensity. Great Savigny villages – pure and mineral in the finish!
2022 Meursault Clos du Cromin
1.5 ha – the part closest to Meursault village – plenty of clay but the limestone is quickly found below.
Extra width to these fresh citrussy aromatics. A faint tannin frames these flavours – more intense and silky than the Savigny – the tannin excepted. Fresh and vibrantly energetic in this finish. Only the inner density of this wine suggests to me ‘Meursault’ – but that’s enough. A super wine…
2022 Puligny-Montrachet Levrons
The clays are black here.
Here is more depth and overt aromatic concentration – actually quite floral. Width and energy – yes, tension! Juicy, complex and engagingly energetic finish – the first wine with a small touch of finishing oak too. Give it 12 months in the cellar then enjoy!
2022 Puligny-Montrachet Les Noirots
A calmer, softer nose – still quite floral perfumed. More linear and direct the palate is infused with a melting citrus flavour and minerality. Lots of finishing citrus complexity – narrower but beautifully detailed – I think this is my new favourite !!
2 parcels here; one in the Clos st Marc – the older vines – and a younger vine (2002) in Pascquelles – ‘the balance comes from assembling them.
More overtly mineral – and open – with a clarity of florals – that’s a great nose. Extra width, the flavour slowly melting over the palate. Simply gorgeous mineral flavours that slowl fade over the palate – I think this at least excellent – potentially a great Chassagne.
2nd largest owner after Roulot. 500-litre barrels for elevage here.
Hmm – even better? Here is extra width with gorgeous citrus accents – another great nose. Hmm – wide, melting – perhaps more intense – certainly fuller flavoured in the middle and finish. More finishing intensity. Most likely this is better than the Chassagne but I’d be drinking the Chassagne whilst waiting for this – today, I love the Chassagne more.
Old vines, never a large rendement but usually very consistent.
Vibrant citrus, almost zesty citrus nose – perhaps with a faint reduction. Intense, Wide – oof! A wine that has it all – what energy. Top !!!
Bottom, south in Au Chaniots.
Finer, easier, more cliché floral aromatic – simply beautiful. Supple, even a hint generous but what a growing energy too. There’s some barrel hidden in the depth of this flavour that’s adding depth to the flavour – but the flavour of the barrel is not there. That’s such an impressive wine – the masochist in me prefers the stricter Garenne today but this is, for most people, the best wine – well done !!
2022 Corton-Charlemagne
The Charlemagne was not yet bottled due to a reduction so Guillaume is not yet showing it, as he prefers this to fade naturally rather than ‘brutally aerate’ it…