Domaine Louis Boillot Volnay 1er Cru ‘les Angles’ 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

As purity, expression and transparency increasingly dominate the discourse in Burgundy, the prices for wines from icons like Mugnier, Roumier and Rousseau have skyrocketed.

But for every Mugnier or Rousseau, there are a handful of domaines who make wines of profound expression, but whose prices remain attractive. At the top of our list of such producers is Louis Boillot.

Louis Boillot’s emerging position in the Burgundy firmament is not accidental. Despite having only launched his domaine in 2002, he came armed with some of the oldest and best situated vineyards in Burgundy—thanks to four generations of Boillots having acquired prime sites in Volnay and Gevrey Chambertin.

About Domaine Louis Boillot

Louis Boillot in concert with his wife Ghislaine Barthod and their son Clément Boillot-Barthod manages a fabulous array of old-vine vineyards and turn out some of the most beautiful red Burgundy along the Cote d’Or. The 2016 vintage is a classic red Burgundy vintage, not withholding the frost that reduced yields and challenged the Growers, the wines have good flesh, structure and concentration as well as terrific energy. As Louis and Clement noted the fruit was clean and required minimal sorting, the fruit was ripe and potential alcohols were between 12.5% to 13.5%.

Louis Boillot recently acquired 4 hectares in Moulin-a-Vent; wines that are absolutely delicious and worth your consideration, they are very Burgundian Cru Beaujolais’.

Spit Bucket have mapped out the Boillot domains

In the Vineyard

In the years since his move to Chambolle, there has been a wildly impressive advance in the stature of Boillot’s wines. It has been a change marked not by flash or dazzle, but by an inexorable march towards increasingly refined and transparent wines.

Today, as in the past, at the heart of his style is a profound respect for the terroir of his old vines. In Gevrey-Chambertin for example, his villages vines average over 50 years old, as do the vines for his premier cru-quality Evocelles. His Champonnet proves this little-seen site ranks among Gevery’s best premier crus. And the Cherbaudes, from 90+ year old vines, is frequently of grand cru quality.

He makes a profound Nuit-St. Georges 1er cru Pruliers, also from 90+ year old vines. And, in Chambolle-Musigny, Louis and Ghislaine purchased and divided a significant part of Beaux Bruns.

Louis’ Côte de Beaune vineyards are equally imposing, with 55+ year old vines in the villages Volnay Grands Poisots. Also in Volnay, there are three premier crus: the supple Les Angles, the intense old-vine Brouillards and the esteemed Caillerets. Just down the road, there are two great Pommard premier crus: a robust Fremiers and monumental Croix Noires.

In fact, it’s hard to imagine the wines of so many great Burgundy terroirs slumbering in the same cellar. Between Louis and Ghislaine, there are 26 different cuvées, of which 17 are premier cru. Louis and Ghislaine’s son Clément stands to inherit both domaines one day, creating a single estate of dizzying stature.

The vineyard management has been combined, with Louis responsible for not only his own vines, but those of Ghislaine as well.

It’s no wonder Ghislaine lets Louis take care of her vines. He’s a master with more than 30 years of experience—employing the minimum of interventions, and meticulously pruning for balanced yields. His winemaking is equally timeless, featuring extended, gentle extractions and a limited use of new barrels.

In the Winery

Louis’ domaine has quietly become one of the most admired small estates in the Côte d’Or. The turning point came in the mid-2000s, when he and his partner—the supremely talented Ghislaine Barthod—built a cave together in Chambolle-Musigny.

This brought two of Burgundy’s most gifted winemakers together—working and tasting side by side—with the alchemy you’d expect.

The 2019 Vintage at Domain Louis Boillot

Louis Boillot’s views about the 2019 vintage are consistent with those of his wife Ghislaine Barthod, “We lost some yield to a relatively poor flowering and probably another 20% to sunburned fruit. We picked from the 9th of September and brought in super-clean fruit though some sorting was required to eliminate the dried berries. Potential alcohols varied from a low of 12.4% to as much as 13.8%. We did a pretty light vinification as it was clear that the thick skins and concentrated berries could easily impart a great deal of tannin if pushed too much.” Another set of seriously good wines from Louis and Clément.

Like his partner Ghislaine Barthod, Louis Boillot was happy to show his 2019s from bottle rather than taste from barrel, and I was delighted to see just how completely all the promise they showed last year had come to fruition. In Fall 2020, Boillot ventured that 2019 is “the most elegant, refined and fresh of the recent warm vintages we’ve had here in Burgundy,” and that’s borne out in bottle. In 2019, team Barthod-Boillot began harvest on September 7th, and they were happy to have been among the earliest to pick. All these wines are exquisitely balanced, and while there’s no grand cru to grab collectors’ attention, that’s probably a boon for Burgundy lovers looking for elegant, age-worthy wines—in many cases, produced from notably old vines—from the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits that still fly somewhat under the radar. In short, I can only reiterate that everything here comes warmly recommended.

William Kelley

Where in the World is Domaine Louis Boillot?

Domaine Louis Boillot shares a winery in Chambolle-Musigny with his wife Ghislain Barthod. He has plantings through out Chambolle, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune, Volnay, and Pommard. Together with son Clément they acquired 4 Ha of Moulin-a-Vent in Beaujolais.

This wine is from Volnay in the Côte du Beaune.