Chalk stone and fruit pit notes lend a certain austerity to Boillot's 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin La Perriere (not that its name wouldn't serve as a warning) but its bitter-sweet, medicinal alliance of black fruits and herbs offers impressively sappy persistence and hints of dark chocolate offer a glimpse of potential future richness. I'd give this at least 3-4 years in bottle and suspect it might well be worth following for up to a decade, though I doubt it will ever approach the Les Evocelles for vivacity. Pierre Boillot - Lucien's grandson, for details on whose history, properties, and connection with other Boillots, see issues and 186 and 170 - noted that his Cote de Beaune fruit required more rigorous sorting in 2008 than did that from the Cote de Nuits, and the former resulted in several wines of relatively aggressive astringency. I tasted his 2008s prior to their March and April bottlings, and (except where noted) assembled from tank. (Unfortunately, shortage of time kept me from tasting Boillot's 2007s.)Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

The Boillot 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin La Perriere is from 50 year old vines in a tiny premier cru below Mazis. (As Pierre Boillot points out, his grandfather seems to have specialized in locating sites with small surface areas, few owners, and exceptional soils and exposures. Claude Dugat blends the fruit from his small share of this site with that from the equally obscure Craipillot.) Gingerbread, resin, and ripe red berries in the nose lead to a deeply-fruited, spicy palate that displays real depth and richness, and this finishes mouth-watering and long on cooked ginger, mace, lightly-cooked black fruits, and saline, carnal savor. An irresistible, fascinating Pinot, it is likely to be worth following for 8-10 years. Pierre Boillot (grandson of Lucien) vinified and marketed together until 2003 with his slightly older brother Louis (who now shares facilities with his wife Ghislaine Barthod, and most of the same appellations as Pierre, and on whose outstanding wines I reported in issue 170 and again in this issue). They then separated their shares of inheritance, which include equally prime acreage in both Cotes, thanks to Lucien having long ago left his family's Volnay estate (now Domaine Henri Boillot) to stake his own claim in Gevrey. My first visit to taste here convinced me that this address and Pierre Boillot's talent should be known to all Burgundy lovers. Pierre Boillot lays great store by lees enrichment, never bottling before the second spring, and then without filtration.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524