2007 Volnay Les Fremiets 1er Cru

Boillot dropped the verjus [the much less ripe, higher-acid second-generation grapes] in August of '08, did what he described as a lot of work in the vines (his Chevrets and Caillerets were hailed on), and then picked quite late, beginning on October 8. That meant an unusually long 118 days between the flowering and harvest. Yields were barely 20 hectoliters per hectare, and Boillot told me there was next to no rot. The wines required a long, soft fermentation, and Boillot did not heat the tanks at the end, a practice that some of his colleagues employ these days. He describes the 2008s as "wines of pleasure, but with the structure to age." The 2007s here show uncanny sweetness and unctuousness: Boillot de-cuved with up to 30 grams per liter of residual sugar, and his allowing the sugar fermentations to finish in barrel only accentuated their ripeness and concentration. Incidentally, Boillot expressed the opinion that 2009 is "clearly a great chardonnay vintage for those who picked early" and that, for pinot noir, it was essential to limit yields.

"Two thousand seven was a nice surprise for those who waited to harvest," said Henri Boillot, who started picking his estate fruit on September 1 and has a stunning set of wines in the works. "And yields were critical," added Boillot, who told me that he never lets two clusters touch and tosses bunches on the ground at harvest time if he doesn't like them. He also told me he eliminated close to 30% of the fruit on his sorting table, and that the ultimate estate-wide yield here averaged just 18 hectoliters per hectare. Boillot describes the wines as thicker and more concentrated than the 2006s, with more coloring material and better acidity. In fact, he added, they have more punch than the 2005s. Boillot de-cuved with a significant amount of unfermented sugar remaining in 2007, allowing the wines to finish in barrel, and he believes that this measure has given the wines more volume.