Also recommended, but not tasting note given.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

Also recommended, but no tasting note given.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

Just across from his Pommard (in one large piece, just below Les Brouillards) grew Boillot’s 2005 Volnay. Brown spices, fruit pits and flowers accent this wine’s ripe cherry fruit, with almost explosive brightness of fruit, tactile spiciness, and penetrating bitter and tart notes of chalk, cherry pit and fruit skin. Stony, low-toned meaty notes in the finish add a sense of darkness and seriousness, as one might expect of a Volnay from the Taillepieds. This is superbly concentrated and complex for a village wine – indeed it outshone most of its Premier Cru siblings -- and is almost certainly capable of aging well for at least 6-8 years. 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.

Produced from the Les Poisots vineyard (as you drive south from Beaune on the RN74, this is the first Volnay vineyard encountered after leaving Pommard) the medium-to-dark ruby-colored Volnay displays blueberry and blackberry aromas and a big, chewy, robust yet refined, medium-bodied flavor profile packed with dark fruit and coffee flavors. Its intensity is impressive, but the firm tannins are disquieting - will they outlive the fruit?As always, ratings with a score in parentheses indicate the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 524-1524.