2016 Henri Boillot, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

(there was a lot of frost here, but the Boillots' two parcels of very old vines in Grand Maupertui suffered less than vines at the bottom of the clos ; 25 hectoliters per hectare produced; 75% new oak): Good dark red; more deeply colored than Boillot's estate wines from the Côte de Beaune. Lovely perfumed lift to the aromas of red cherry, licorice, spices and flowers. Then fat and thick in the mouth, with dark berry and black cherry flavors energized by salty minerality. Lovely inner-palate tension and flavor complexity here. The tannins are firm but not dusty or dry on the long, rising finish. Boillot does a fermentation intégrale for most of his Côte de Nuits wines, vinifying them in barrels, then pressing them and returning them to barrel. This technique makes for gentler extraction and results in an earlier integration of fruit and oak elements, typically yielding rounder, more voluminous wines with silkier tannins but also more structure without dryness.

The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a fragrant bouquet with red cherries and hints of kirsch, gently unfolding with time and not as immediate as its peers. The palate is well balanced with sappy red fruit, a slightly rustic frame of tannin with some dryness towards the spice-tinged finish. It improves considerably in the glass, gaining more personality and harmony, though never really captures the heart. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.