The Boillot 2008 Volnay Les Caillerets mingles surprising notes of Normandy cider along with mint, cassis and blueberry, all of which are wedded to a quite overtly dense, sappy, finely-tannic palate. It finishes with gum-sticking tenacity, peppery pungency, and slightly austere chalkiness, yet also persistently cool herbal and black and blue fruit notes. There are unfortunately only 50 cases worth of this Volnay from very old vines and likely to merit following for at least 6-8 years. 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

Boillot's 2006 Volnay Les Caillerets smells deliciously of cherry jam and kirsch distillate, clove, cinnamon, and candied orange peel. A correspondingly zesty, pungently spicy, and sweetly-fruited palate takes on depth by way of chalky, stony mineral suggestions which – like the wine's tanninity – do not turn it in an austere direction thanks to the sheer juiciness of fruit than persists with lip-smacking abundance in the finish. This will be a delight to enjoy young but should, I suspect (not yet having experience at this estate), be worth following for the better part of a decade. 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

Boillot’s 2005 Volnay Caillerets leads with ripe black currant and raw meat suggestions, saturating the palate with sweet, brash, dark-berry fruit, but quickly reveals a pithy concentration of stones and chalk beneath. Sleek and refined in texture, this unobtrusively harbors plenty of tannins for 8-10 years in the cellar. Faintly disembodied notes of caramel and resin betray the oak a bit, but these should integrate given this wine’s formidable raw fruit intensity. Layers of fruit, meat and chalk are tightly packed into a penetrating finish. Also recommended: 2005 Fixin (unknown; 85-87). Having moved from Volnay to a newly-expanded facility he shares with his wife, Ghislaine Barthod, Louis Boillot fields a large and geographically diverse range of generally impressive, pure-fruited Pinots. (In rating them, I have left some leeway to allow for my previous unfamiliarity with Louis Boillot’s wines.)Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990.