Blackberry and cassis tinged with cocoa powder and cinnamon marry with elusive meat and mineral notes in Boillot's 2008 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cherbaudes, demonstrating what I-ve come to recognize as the complex potential of this relatively little-known premier cru that touches three grand crus. There is a sense of sheer thickness here unusual for the vintage, but allied to verve and refreshment that are 2008-typical. The firm feel, prominent acidity, and low-key finishing flavors here will strike some as austere, but I suspect this wine will grow on you as it opens in the glass and deserve watching off and on for the better part of a decade. 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

From ancient vines in a tiny, square cru bordering Mazis-Chambertin and the Les Gemeaux portion of Chapelle-Chambertin, and catty-corner to Clos de la Beze – and a site most of which Jean-Marie Fourrier owns – the Lucien Boillot 2006 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cherbaudes displays mote than mere pretensions to grand cru quality. Rich in ripe plum and black cherry fruits, with overtones of rose petal and blond tobacco; savory and saline in its intersection of mineral and pan dripping-like and marrowy carnal elements; dynamically, interactively complex; and impeccably refined in tannins, this long-finishing beauty should be worth following for at least 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

From 90-year-old vines (his oldest) from below the Clos de Beze comes Boillot’s 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cherbaudes. Concentrated fresh black cherry mingles with incense and resin on the nose. A silky texture, ultra-fine tannins, and intense fresh and liqueur-like expression of black fruit make for a memorable mouthful of Pinot that finishes with refined hints of cherry pit, brown spices, meat and mineral, fresh fruit clarity, and gentle but long reach. This should be fascinating to follow 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.