2005 Bouchard Père & Fils Volnay Clos des Chenes 1er Cru
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The Bouchard 2005 Volnay Clos des Chenes announces itself with site-typical black cherry and freshly grated ginger. This features bright, fresh, sweet fruit and chalky minerality in the manner of the Cuvee Carnot, but with greater generosity, admirable concentration and a luscious, persistently fresh-fruited, gingery finish. Managing director Stephane Follin and cellar master Philippe Prost preside over a remarkable new, gravity-fed winemaking facility capable of handling the fruits of Bouchard’s 130 hectares of vines – Burgundy’s largest estate (with 84 hectares in premier and grand crus alone) – not to mention the enormous range of wine from purchased fruit or wines. Fully 40% of the reds are vinified in open-top fermenters with manual punch-downs (the balance in a battery of roto-fermentors) and the system of traffic control alone that must be in place during crush is hard to imagine. The underground acreage devoted to barriques similarly defies imagination – until one sees it. Prost was very cautious with pigeage this year, but incorporated a significant percentage of whole clusters with stems in many of his better lots. A reputation for improved quality is being built here to which the results of 2005 will certainly contribute. I suspect that a number of the wines I tasted had not recovered from their recent bottling, hence the number of “+?”s one sees displayed following my scores. (Wines from the Domaine are designated D on the list above.) Also recommended: 2005 Savigny-les-Beaune Les Lavieres D ($30.00; 86), 2005 Monthelie Les Duresses D ($35.00; 84), 2005 Monthelie Clos des Champs Fulliot D ($35.00; 85), 2005 Beaune 1er Cru “Beaune du Chateau” D ($45.00; 86+?), 2005 Beaune Marconnets ($35.00; 86+?), 2005 Volnay Taillepieds D ($55.00; 85+?), 2005 Pommard 1er Cru ($45.00; 84+?), 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges ($55.00; 85), 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin ($35.00; 86), 2005 Vosne-Romanee ($35.00; 85), 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Porrets St.-Georges ($55.00; 86+?), 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Damodes ($55.00; 86+?). Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
(from a cooler site featuring a good bit of chalk; not yet racked) Deep ruby-red. Aromas of black cherry and licorice, with a suggestion of cassis reduction. Densely packed but juicy and sharply delineated, with flavors of kirsch stone, bitter chocolate and licorice. Finishes scented and long, with firm tannins that are a bit sweeter than usual for this cuvee But this is a less elegant style than the Caillerets. Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent 2005 samples had not yet been racked in November.
Cask sample. Slightly lighter colour than the Caillerets. Cake spice and plums but still fresh. Plums and cherries on the palate, sweet and fresh. Delicious. More autumnal than the Caillerets. (JH)
About the producer
Bouchard Père & Fils is one of Burgundy’s oldest and most established wine producers. Founded in 1731 by Michel Bouchard, it is the largest vineyard owner in the Côte d’Or with 130 hectares of vines.