Tasted in Volnay with Pierrick Bouley, 13 November 2019.
Domaine Pierrick Bouley
5, Place de l’Eglise
21190 Volnay
Tel: +33 3 80 21 61 69
http://pascalbouley.com
As per my last report from here, wine sold in France retains the old domaine name – Réyane & Pascal Bouley – but the bottles that are exported are now with Pierrick’s name.
Pierrick on 2019:
“In 2019 I made 25 hl/ha, that was after 40 and 42 in 2017 and 2018 – our aim is 35, but 25 hurts! I think, though, that we have extraordinary quality as there’s great acidity. The malos are already done. Really it’s the dryness that cost us the yield – very similar to in 2015 when we made 28 hl/ha.”
Pierrick on 2018:
“I harvested early – starting 25 august in Clos de Chênes and Champans. I did one more parcel than took a couple of days rest. The first vines added 2 degrees in one week, reaching 13.5°! For me the key was the harvest date. The grapes were very clean and very ripe but with plenty of volume. I don’t think they are too rich but I’m happy that I picked earlier. The yeasts struggled a little in 2018 but nothing stopped fermenting – it just took some time.”
The wines…
This is a direct, in your face, fresh set of wines – lovely to find in 2018!
2018 St.Romain
A domaine wine
Plenty of forward aroma, certainly a sweetness. Ooh – fresh, saline, driving, mouth-watering. It could do with a hint more sweetness (rare to say in 2018!) but this is a lovely mineral and open wine.
2018 Chassagne 1er Abbaye de Morgeot
Fermage but needs a négoce licence.
Hmm, here is a more elegant width of freshness – very inviting. Supple, but wide and mineral, layered flavour. Hmm, very mineral again, this time with just enough sweetness and again a little salinity to the flavour. This is excellent, I would say for keeping, plenty of power to balance the freshness.
Les Rouges:
2018 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Pinot Noir
From the bottom of the Volnay commune – Lamboits, still on the ‘right side’ of the road.
Oh, now that’s a lovely, attractive and elegant nose – a great invitation. Drive, energy, freshness, a little structure in the middle. Less rich than many with a fine, high-toned, flavour profile. Wait a little for this but it is a super wine.
Less width but more vertical with impressive high and low tones. Driving, super fresh, lovely texture.Mouth-watering tasty wine. This is really lovely – bravo!
2018 Volnay
Usually about 10 different parcels assembled.
A more modest weight of aroma, but a fine almost perfumed freshness. Again, wide, fresh and mineral. Über-fine-grained tannin that has the merest suggestion of dry. Love the finish.
2018 Pommard
Practically all from Chanlins and Lambots, including the oldest vines of the domaine at 80 years old
A big, bright, fresh and attractive nose. Wide, fresh (yes, I know that I’m saying that a lot) structured but hardly a grain of tannin to be found here. Mouth-watering and really long.
2018 Aloxe-Corton
Second vintage domain wine, 0.30 ha in Les Citernes. I prune a little harder than was previously done.
A much deeper, riper fruit here. But super acidity again, more structural than the Pommard, almost a grain of tannin is showing, framing of the flavours with modest astringence. Bigger and longer, also to wait longer for than the Pommard.
A little more modest colour. Ooh, a beauty – such a fine perfume here. Delicate, pure, elegant – a wine made of china. Long, tasty, it’s a treat!
2018 Monthelie 1er Les Clous
White soil, lots of limestone – ‘it’s like the Clos des Chênes.’ Bought in 2007 – ‘It has taken a little while but for the last 5 or-so years I’ve become very happy with this.’ This was a villages until reclassified in about 2006/7.
More depth, plenty of high-toned complexity – some floral accents here too. Sleek, a wine of direction, only slowly widening in the middle and further in the finish – slowly opening all the time. The tannin almost creeps up on you. Fine finishing. Super!
At the top on the road between Chevrets and Santenots Dessous – usually the most concentrated. It’s an old (70) vine of almost half a hectare
Deep but with beautiful top notes – a great nose! Silky, multi-dimensional flavour. Open, gorgeous wine – bravo!
2018 Volnay 1er Ronceret
Right in the middle of the 1ers at the top of the vineyard. Quite deep soil but with lots of small rocks.
Deeply coloured. Deeper fruited too, I’m missing the high-toned freshness of the others. More structured, plenty of balancing acidity, needs more time but the purity of the darker fruit is very fine for this vintage. A wine that begs some patience – but it will be worth it!
The monopoly of this 0.24 hectare 1er cru section of the Grand Champs vineyard – many others have Grands Champs – but their’s is villages.
Less colour. A less full nose but that’s a very fine perfume coming from the glass. Mineral, silky mouth-filling – love the change of style here. Long, slowly rolling flavour like thunder moving from one side of the sky to the other. Not a big wine but one of such reward! Bravo!
2018 Volnay 1er Santenots
From Santenots Blanc – ‘When grandfather bought it, it was indeed planted to white but eventually he decided to change’
More colour again. Much more high tones and aromatic intensity. Wide, structural, fine grains of tannin but virtually no dryness. Layers of mobile flavour here. This is excellent Santenots! A little more padded than the fresh sweeping lines of other wines.
2018 Volnay 1er Champans
From the northern side of the vineyard, close to Carelles Sous la Chapelle. ‘I often thought our young Champans a little hard, I’ve worked on that’
A depth and slight vibration of aroma, but it’s tighter above. Driving, pure dark fruit, an almost volatile impression yet this is cool-fruited – this seems to be the oak as it’s the same on the nose.
2018 Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
From 2 parcels, a large top to bottom parcel in the middle of the vineyard and a smaller parcel at the southern end of the vineyard next to Monthelie – both above the road.
Not the biggest nose, but rounder and fresher – the same barrels as the last but better integrated thinks Pierrick. Wide – a panorama – good energy with a cool fruit. Layered, slowly evolving flavour in the middle. This is lovely, indeed excellent for the vintage. The late-arriving tannin is almost a surprise!
More reports for Domaine Pierrick Bouley