Burgundy wine Follow

Dear Ones, Jean-marc bouley Happy Easter Weekend. Here they say 'Bonnes Paques' - it just doesn’t have the same ring. This morning as I write to you, I have a collier d'agneau (lamb’s neck) braising in the oven, a stock simmering from last-night's poulet de Bresse, am thumbing through Simca and Elizabeth David recipes, putting together things for an Easter picnic in Chablis. My pop warned me that I would go to France and become a thick-ankled woman hovering over a stove… well, So here we have an abominable euro/dollar exchange, making it very hard for everyone in wine, notably European growers who fear losing their export markets. However, we will still continue to have great deals coming out the woodwork, so go ahead and embrace them. On a brighter note, a recent US importer told me he was having dinner with one of his producers in Marsannay, and he turned to their 12 year-old son and asked 'what is your favorite wine?' The son responded, "'45 La Grande Rue." That’s worth a smile. Domaine Jean-Marc Bouley Volnay Ah, Volnay - often the greatest pinot in the lot - and always in very short supply; there are a handful of producers and 34 tiny premier cru vineyards, actually more premier cru than village wine, exclusively red, many vineyards which have been constant for 700 years, as first planted by the Knights of Malta; wines which give to the connoisseurs their incomparable bouquet thanks to a succession of ferruginous limestone covered in reddish brown silt, 200-300 meters above sea level, not to forget passionate and traditional vignerons. This particular 7.5 hectare domain has vineyard holdings from Meursault up to Beaune - tracing back to 1527 - the name has changed from Verdereau to Bouley in the 70's (a guaranteed but unclear relation to the folks at Domaine Thiebault Huber-Verdereau). Delightfully authentic Burgundian characters - this father and son team recently welcomed us at their ancient stone house, within the collection of 40 or 50 old stone houses that comprise the somewhat third-world-esque village of Volnay, which, in this case, leads into a subterranean cuverie. One of my best sources called this domain 'the best-kept secret in Volnay.' Jean-Marc took over the domain in 1984, and with his son Thomas, are working toward organic, using natural compost and plowing methods. Grapes are picked by hand and sulphur is used to a minimum. Open-vat fermentation is employed, and ageing in 30-50% new oak for 12 to 18 months, depending on the appellation. My co-taster and I both agreed that the wines were lovely across the board, but the one that stood out, especially for price / value ratio, was this lieu-dit just above the cuverie. Luckily, the wine-makers of Volnay held a tasting with 25 growers last week and I was able to re-taste. Again, I found the Clos de la Cave to have vibrant aromatics from aroma to palate, combined with richness and length, and round integrated tannins. French oak is subtly present, but works to complement the ripe fruit. Unlike a classically light Volnay, this drinks lushly, with an intensity of high tone dark fruit and earthy perfumed flavor. Jean-Marc Bouley Volnay ‘Clos de La Cave’ 2005 Read and post comments | Send to a friend