Description
Jean-Marc Boillot is a star of the Côte d’Or … “Few Burgundians are as talented in producing both whites and reds as Boillot. Few also have such a clear vision of what great Burgundy should taste like. With no fewer than 21 appellations at his disposal, he manages to produce seductively rich, dense and concentrated whites and reds in all years.” Per-Henrik Mansson, Wine Spectator
Jasper Morris MW, author of Inside Burgundy … “Jean-Marc Boillot is a grandson of Etienne Sauzet, and was previously winemaker for Olivier Leflaive. With that mixture of winemaking pedigree and experience it comes as no surprise that Jean-Marc Boillot makes sensational wines. He is one of those rare commodities in Burgundy, a winemaker who produces both red and white wines of the highest quality. Now assisted by daughter Lydie and son Benjamin, Jean-Marc Boillot set up his own domaine in 1985. He started with some rented vines in Pommard, adding Volnay and Pommard from his grandfather’s side in 1988 and the whites, a one-third share of Domaine Etienne Sauzet, from his grandmother in 1991. Including generic burgundy, the domaine now exploits 11 hectares, five red and six white, with the same volume again in négociant cuvées of white wines, especially from the Côte Chalonnaise.
Jean-Marc Boillot now has 10.5 hectares of vines in the Côte de Beaune which include vineyards previously owned by Domaine Sauzet in Puligny. He is a stocky, fit, energetic man who does not waste time with words, instead allowing his wines to speak for themselves.His reds are rich, rounded and exhibit great purity of fruit, his white wines are characterised by their huge concentration, class and wonderful expression of their terroir.
All the whites, except the grand cru, are vinified in the same way: whole-bunch pressed, settled for 24 hours then straight to barrel with 25 to 30 per cent new wood, lees-stirring once a week and bottling before the next harvest. They are pure, fresh, attractive wines. The reds are entirely destalked, given a cool soak before the fermentation begins after which a mix of punching down and pumping over is used according to the vintage and vineyard. Thirteen months barrel ageing, with 50 per cent new barrels, is followed by a further six months maturation in tank before bottling. The reds show a bright combination between fruit and barrel, good for medium-term ageing. “
Stephen Tanzer International Wine Cellar notes made in January 2014 on the 2012’s: “Boillot talked about colleagues who wait too long to pick and lose the freshness in their wines. He harvested in 2012 beginning on September 17, bringing in pinot with up to 13.3% natural alcohol. Boillot did just four pigeages per cuvee (“I’m too old to punch down a lot”), at the beginning of the fermentation, and little remontage–“just infusion.” He expected “monsters of extract” in 2012 but instead got wines he described as delicate and fine. We tasted in the cute little tasting room that Boillot recently constructed in the shade of his front yard. Incidentally, Boillot has always made use of selected yeast strains. He maintains that a lot of other winemakers say they use wild yeasts but really don’t.“ This is fabulous revelled every sip as it unfurled in the glass over the evening.. plenty of life for the cellar if you can keep your hands off..
91-93 points, Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, Jan 2014 “Bright, deep red. Lovely high-pitched aromas of cherry, raspberry and spices lifted by a minty topnote. Creamy on the attack, then tactile and highly concentrated but juicy and imploded in the middle, showing superb fruit intensity, a hint of wildness and a chewy impression of extract. Finishes firmly tannic, fresh and long, with a strong spicy quality. This wine will need time in the cellar to unwind.”
