2001 Meursault Les Genevrières 1er Cru

As I worked my way to the top of Boillot's hierarchy of white wines, this thought crossed my mind: how can chardonnay get better than this? Boillot's young 2002s, though obviously not yet in bottle at the time of my late spring tasting, are one of the greatest sets of young white Burgundies I've tasted to date. They are hugely rich but classically dry, with residual sugars, according to Boillot, in the modest 1.1 to 1.3 grams-per-liter range. They are sweetly oaky, but have more than enough material to support their wood element (and Boillot typically uses 350-liter Francois Freres barrels, which provide for somewhat less contact between the wood and the surface of the wine than the standard 228-liter Burgundy casks). The confident Boillot, for his part, describes his 2002s as "fat wines that possess exceptional acidity." By the way, Boillot had me taste his wines in the Riedel sangiovese glass, which he prefers for young chardonnay. But their high quality would have been obvious served up in a jelly jar. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Henri Boillot began his negociant operation in 1999 and it's simply incredible how fast he has risen to join the elite ranks of a very small group what I term the "micro-negociants". In only his third vintage, he has crafted some of the very best wines of the vintage and just as amazingly, Maison Boillot is one of the very few addresses where you can taste 6 of the 7 white grands crus the sole exception being Musigny blanc note: I am obviously not drawing a distinction between any of the Corton whites, such as En Charlemagne, Corton blanc or any of the "hyphenated" examples, such as Corton-Vergennes, etc). Boillot told me that 2001 is "more mineral in character than 2000 and less heavy, opulent and massive than 1999. 2000 may age longer but I very much like the crystalline minerality of 2001." Boillot, like many of his colleagues, initially had concerns about the quality of the 2001s but noted that "after the malos finished and the wines clarified, they really blossomed." The wines were bottled between October and December and I tasted them in February. Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.).It is perhaps worthy of some discussion as to try and understand how someone can accomplish what Boillot has done in such a short period of time in a wine market that is so hotly contested for the very best juice. Contacts with superior juice are of course the primary key to top quality wines but that in and of itself is not sufficient. So, it's worthwhile to dissect for a moment Boillot's approach because the wise Burgundy consumer should want to understand how someone can take purchased juice and create wines that rival those of all but the very finest domaines. First, Boillot works exclusively with grapes or must, not that this is by any means unique but it's an important first step. Second, for all of his 1er and grands crus all of the must or grapes come exclusively from one grower; this necessarily limits quantity (for example, Boillot told me that he produced only 200 barrels in 2001) but it's the best way to understand the quality of your raw materials in depth, which will obviously serve you well for the next vintage. Third, there is absolutely no "cross over" between the appellations at the Domaine and Maison level, at least at the 1er and grand cru levels, which helps to avoid consumer confusion. Lastly is an attention to detail that is nothing short of incredible with a cuverie that is spotless and impeccably designed. As an aside, the wines themselves are somewhat new world in style and while it is much too soon to know how they will age, a Maison Boillot 2000 Corton-Charlemagne that I had the other day had almost completely eaten its oak and was a seriously impressive wine, meriting a score of 94/2008-15; see Issue 10, page 125 for a review of the 2000 Montrachet - 93/2008-14.

As I worked my way to the top of Boillot's hierarchy of white wines, this thought crossed my mind: how can chardonnay get better than this? Boillot's young 2002s, though obviously not yet in bottle at the time of my late spring tasting, are one of the greatest sets of young white Burgundies I've tasted to date. They are hugely rich but classically dry, with residual sugars, according to Boillot, in the modest 1.1 to 1.3 grams-per-liter range. They are sweetly oaky, but have more than enough material to support their wood element (and Boillot typically uses 350-liter Francois Freres barrels, which provide for somewhat less contact between the wood and the surface of the wine than the standard 228-liter Burgundy casks). The confident Boillot, for his part, describes his 2002s as "fat wines that possess exceptional acidity." By the way, Boillot had me taste his wines in the Riedel sangiovese glass, which he prefers for young chardonnay. But their high quality would have been obvious served up in a jelly jar. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Boillot maintains that 1999 is ultimately the least impressive of the last three years for white wine due to an element of dilution - "the effect of 10 hectoliters per hectare more crop across the board." At the time of my visit, he preferred his finished 2000s, but he also described his young 2001s as particularly fresh wines. The man is on a roll: this is one cellar where the negociant wines (Maison Henri Boillot) do not take a back seat to the estate cuvees (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)

Boillot maintains that 1999 is ultimately the least impressive of the last three years for white wine due to an element of dilution - "the effect of 10 hectoliters per hectare more crop across the board." At the time of my visit, he preferred his finished 2000s, but he also described his young 2001s as particularly fresh wines. The man is on a roll: this is one cellar where the negociant wines (Maison Henri Boillot) do not take a back seat to the estate cuvees (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)