Smoky black tea and mulberry aromas in Boillot's 2008 Pommard Les Fremiers lead to a firm, lean, yet impressively gripping palate whose notes of salt, sage, berry skin, and stone add to a stimulating yet metaphorically dark personality. This relatively somber Pinot ought to merit following for at least half a dozen 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

The Boillot 2006 Pommard Les Fremiers smells of dried pit fruits, resin, citrus zest, tobacco, and brown spices. Sappy and well-concentrated – with low-toned stoniness and suggestions of roasted red meats adding to the counterparts of the aforementioned aromas – this really stains the palate and finishes with a fruit cake-like sense of density and spice, yet without seeming heavy. It should prove delightful for at least 6-8 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

The 2005 Pommard Fremiers features blackberry and black raspberry mingled with sirloin juices, displaying a purity, clarity, and focus of fruit as well as a refinement of tannin that one often misses from Pommard. Faintly bitter overtones of lavender and rosemary help sustain the concentration and length on exhibit . This superb old vines material has completely resisted the barrel, and bids fair to evolve impressively for a decade or more. 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.