JEAN-MARC BOILLOT Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Champ-Canet' - Cote de Beaune 2023 Bottle

Description

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. - Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.

*****

Jasper Morris 93 points: "Lemon and lime colour. The fruit comes across a little riper, with some plum skins. Notably generous on the palate but still with excellent acidity, an intriguing little touch of liquorice further back, quite complex. Drink from 2029-2035. Tasted Oct 2024."