Wine Advisor
Jean-Marc Bouley, Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chenes 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes has a rather aloof bouquet at first and only reluctantly offers slightly rustic red berry fruit that gains harmony and poise with aeration. There is a light damp woodland aroma here, decaying autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, nicely poised, very classic in style with a mixture of red and black fruit, undergrowth and just a touch of tobacco toward the finish. This will require 3 or 4 years in barrel. Excellent.
About the Producer
History From father to son through numerous generations, the Bouley family cultivates vineyards in Volnay. In the last century, from 1919, François Bouley manages the family estate. Christian will succeed him in 1948. Jean-Marc creates his own Domain in 1974, to which his father’s vineyards are added in 1984. In 2002, Thomas joins the Domain and takes the management in 2012. His main objective is to join the great Domains in Volnay. Vineyard The production is essentially in red wine, amongst the villages of Volnay, Pommard and Beaune, with the exception of one vineyard producing white wines, Bourgogne Aligoté, which is situated in the area of Meursault. Burgundy has this peculiarity to have vineyards divided up. Today, we exploit 8ha80 divided into 29 plots of land. Philosophy Burgundy wines arise first from the soil. Each year we are looking to express as accurately as possible the nuances of each appellation. We combine traditional methods and modern technology to produce concentrated wines, with good fruit, elegance and roundness which gives us pleasure while they are young and good potential for ageing. Culture de la vigne To produce exceptional wines, it is important to have beautiful grapes. To express the mineral from the soil and the underground, a good microbial life is essential. In this respect, we use neither weedkillers nor chemical fertilizers. All our vines are ploughed. The manual work of pruning, de-budding and trellising have evolved to keep only 6 to 8 bunches of grapes per plant and evenly spaced. Wine making The harvest is manual. The grapes are then sorted at the winery on a vibrating table. The fermentation takes between 2 and 3 weeks. Diverse decisions are made to adapt to the vintage and to each appellation. Ageing is done entirely in oak barrels and will take from 15 to 20 months. Marketing All the bottling is done at the Domain. We do all the commercialization of our wines. All over the world, we work in collaboration with our importers. In France, our wines are distributed through wine shops, restaurants and a few very good agents. We also send directly to private clients.
