| Review: |
“The 2018 Volnay Clos de la Cave is showing beautifully in bottle, and Bouley observes that the fact that—despite its prime exposition—this site is in the shade by around 6 p.m. every evening complements its calcium-rich soils to lend it a notably ethereal profile. Wafting from the glass with scents of sweet berries, peonies, mandarin rind, raw cocoa and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and perfumed, with a bright spine of acidity, refined tannins and a lively, mineral finish. Walk through the vineyards of Pommard and Volnay, and Thomas Bouley's meticulously tended vines are easy to spot: with high, beautifully spaced canopies and aerated, living soils, they inspire admiration even among the most exacting. His opinions are trenchant, but no one could contend that he doesn't put them into practice. Yet Bouley remains, to a significant extent, a ‘winemakers winemaker’—someone sometimes more talked about by his neighbors than by collectors overseas who are more readily seduced by social media savoir faire than hard work in the vineyards. It's typical of the domaine's insider status that Thomas's own name doesn't actually appear on the label, and that his finest wine is neither his Pommard Rugiens, nor his Volnay Caillerets, but rather his Pommard Fremiers—a climat one seldom hears spoken of. That will surely change—and soon—but for now, these remain some of the Côte d'Or's finest values, a fact that readers should profit from to acquire some bottles while they can. As I wrote last year, the rudiments of Bouley's approach in the cuverie and cellar are simple: for his terroirs that are richer in clay, he retains significant proportions of stems, whereas stonier sites are largely or entirely destemmed. Macerations are comparatively long, with temperature control only when deemed necessary. In the cellar, the influence of new oak is minimal, and the wines see two winters on the fine lees. This year, we opted to revisit the 2018s in bottle, and they fulfilled all the promise they showed from barrel last year. I also tasted the domaine's 2019s—’in your capacity as an interested wine lover, but not to review,’ as Bouley put it—but respecting his preference that critics henceforth comment only on finished wines from his domaine, I will confine myself to saying that any readers who have the opportunity to purchase some before I'm able to publish reviews shouldn't hesitate to do so.” |