2008 Clos Vougeot

Dark crimson. Liquorice and other appealing notes on the nose. Lots of sweet, luscious fruit on the front palate. Smooth texture. Very beguiling. I’d love to see this attractive wine a little cooler. (JR)

Originating in a parcel of middle-aged vines newly-leased from a grower whom he says claimed it was too much trouble to farm it, Boillot’s 2008 Clos Vougeot Grand Maupertuis projects abundant dark berry fruit and roasted meat. Overtones of peat and licorice and crushed stone in the finish further enhance a striking similarity with his Chambertin of this vintage. Like most of the other wines in this collection, it boasts tannins both abundant and fine-grained. More formidable for now than loveable, to be sure, its persistent freshness and saliva inducing carnality combine to steer it clear of austerity; instead, it’s long and lean but packed with flavor. I would expect a 15 or more year return from this. In 2008, Henri Boillot both expanded his domaine and became ambitious qua negociant with Pinot. In the latter capacity, he looks for contracts where he can exercise control over the farming, so that, for example, all of the 2008s – he reports – were cropped at less than 20 hectoliters per hectare and picked very late. Unorthodoxly (for Burgundy, at least) Boillot pressed many of his reds early to let them complete fermentation in barrel. His malos were late but not dramatically so, finishing in August, and most of the wines were bottled in February, a few earlier. (I tasted several 2007 reds from Boillot, but too early-on to adequately assess, and I have not had time to revisit that collection.) Various importers

(en fermage; from a new source)) Deep red-ruby. Ripe black cherry, licorice and a wilder hint of game on the nose. Dense, lush and fully ripe, offering nuanced flavors of cherry, minerals, flowers and game, plus an intriguing saline impression of soil. Finishes with palate-saturating flavor and big but seamless tannins. This will need time in bottle but appears to be a great success in 2008. Boillot says these vines were picked on October 12 with 13% natural alcohol, and that the yield was just 19 hectoliters per hectare.