Burgundy - Louis Boillet

The opportunity to taste seven wines from Domaine Louis Boillet appeared and I was not going to let this pass by given that most of these wines came from either Volnay or Gevrey Chambertin. 

They were all from the 2021 (a cooler, damper) and 2022 (a warmer) vintages.  The first thing that struck me was how light and ethereal these wines were, even those from Gevrey Chambertin, which are not known for this style.

Louis Boillot Gevrey Chambertin 2021

A village-level wine.  It initially displayed some reduction (the wines were not decanted) but this quickly blew off.  On tasting this wine, I found it very light and transparent – quite a surprise for me as I normally expect Gevrey-Chambertin wines to be more robust.  It had a savoury backbone with a touch of fruit – a slight touch of red plum, raspberry and violet with red currant being the most dominant flavour.  I loved this wine.

Rating:  Bloody Delish     Price: AUD 200

Louis Boillet Volnay Les Grands Poisots 2021 and 2022

The 2021 was quite light with little fruit concentration.  It was very transparent with flavours of strawberry, raspberry and red currant.

In contrast, the 2022 was much more tightly structured and more savour.  Flavours of dried thyme, dried raspberry, dried red currant, and dried red plum (but not prune) drove this wine.  This actually tasted the older of the two wines, despite being younger.

2021:  Rating:  Delish          Price: AUD 195

2022: Rating:  Delish           Price: AUD 210

Louis Boillet Volnay 1er Cru Les Brouillards 2021 and 2022

Another great opportunity to do a vertical tasting and this one was the only vertical that really highlighted the vintage differences.

The 2021 initially struck me as being green with a lot of stem and leaf flavours.  It was very savoury and tannin was the dominant element.  Then the fruit started to peak through the autumn leaves with just a tinge of black plum and pomegranate essence on the finish.  This wine was too young and closed, and needed at least another 3 years to start opening up.

The 2022 was my favourite of the 2022 wines I tasted.  It hit with a fruit-forward aroma of raspberry, displaying the warmer vintage.  Red cherry, red currant and a touch of plum quickly followed.  There was quite a strong tannic grip but it gave the wine texture rather than overwhelming it. 

2021:  Rating: Okay                        Price AUD 255

2022:  Rating: Bloody Delish    Price: AUD 280