Lucien Boillot & Fils
| Vigneron | Pierre Boillot |
| Location | Gevrey Chambertin (Côte d'Or) |
| Size of Domaine | 7.2 ha |
| Terroir | Continental climate. Clay-limestone marls, alluvial sediments on mid-Jurassic (Bajocian and Bathonian) limestone bedrock. Gentle slopes. 250-330m altitude. |
| Viticulture | No herbicide or insecticide. Sulphur and copper against mildew/oidium although fungicide might be used in case of extreme pressure. |
| View Lucien Boillot & Fils wines ↓ |
It always amazes us that despite Burgundy being the most tramped over wine region of France, it’s still possible to chisel out brilliant winemakers flying under the radar.
It’s even more surprising to discover top growers who have been quietly ploughing their own furrow for 20 years, selling to a band of deliriously happy customers throughout the world but somehow managing to avoid the spotlight from journalists (Roblet-Monnot in Volnay would be a good example, only very recently finally receiving the plaudits he deserved from William Kelley in the Wine Advocate). Similarly, few journalists have ever latched on to the brilliant wines of Pierre and Sophie Boillot in Gevrey Chambertin. But there again, when a domaine has been working for all of that time with Kermit Lynch, one of the most influential names in the wine world, who needs more publicity?
The family business of Lucien Boillot & Fils has been steered quietly and sensitively by Pierre and Sophie Boillot since 2003 (the 7th generation of this famous family in the business). Previously Pierre had worked alongside his brother Louis (married to Ghislaine Barthod) until the brothers split up the holdings of the family domaine and went their separate ways. Their father Lucien Boillot didn’t get on with his dad Henri Boillot (brother to Jean-Marc Boillot of Pommard fame) who had an estate in Volnay, and so left to start up his own business, taking on a clutch of Gevrey vines in 1978.
And so Pierre has inherited a domaine of 7.2ha, with an unusual split in both the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits comprising two thirds vines in Gevrey and one third in Volnay, spread over 15 different ACs including 10 Premier Crus, almost all from very old vines. Unsurprisingly, given the Henri Boillot link, there is also a small holding of Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières. Many of his vineyards are under-appreciated treasures: Volnay Les Angles – which was originally classified as one of the top premier cru sites in Volnay in the 19th century, Pommard Croix Noires right below the 1er Cru Les Rugiens, Gevrey Cherbaudes right next to Chapelle-Chambertin GC, and Gevrey Corbeaux alongside Mazis-Chambertin GC. Every wine is a classic representation of its appellation – from Volnay and Pommard to Gevrey and Nuits-Saint-Georges.
Old vines are imperative – according to Pierre vines need to be a minimum of 50yo to really start to give quality and complexity. 90% of their holdings are from pinot fin massal selections and they are planted on old low yielding rootstocks at 1m x 0.90m spacing – yields of around 25hh are typical of these very old vines. He prunes short, adds no fertiliser to the soils, just horse and sheep manure in the spring, and mechanically controls grass growth. He doesn’t like to deep plough, just scratching the surface, and uses interceps and hoeing by hand to control weed growth between the vines. He’s 'agro-bio' at the start and end of the season but allows a window when he can treat against oidium and mildew, but only if strictly necessary (like 2021). Four people work full time alongside Pierre and Sophie on the domaine. He carries out a 'pré-taille' in November and then prunes late in March.
Normally the wines are destalked 100% as he likes the precision that confers but he will use up to 15% stems when they are really ripe. He practices one or two pigeages a day by hand during 20 to 25 days of maceration. Sulphur is added at the harvest to avoid brettanomyces, then after malos a little is added and no adjustment after that. He likes to leave the wines on the lees for a year, before racking barrel by barrel, avoiding oxygen at all costs during the process. The wines then spend another 4 to 6 months in barrel, with the second winter being vital both for conferring finesse and complexity. The wines are assembled in cuve for a month and a half and are neither fined nor filtered. Total SO2 levels are a "low but strictly necessary" 30mg/l with absolutely none added either when assembled in cuve or just pre-bottling (a real no-no for Pierre). The village wines are aged in 10-15% new oak (a mix of fûts and 500ltr) and the premier crus in 20-25% – there’s no danger of wines being over-oaked here.
Simply put, Pierre is a master of his trade at every stage. The wines are of an outstanding quality and finesse, each one bringing out the heart and spirit of their individual terroirs. They are so well made you can drink them with incredible pleasure in their youth (especially the village wines), not one ever shows any hint of oak, eating up the modest percentages of new oak in their stride. Alcohol levels seem well restrained even in warmer vintages and the low (and properly thought through) SO2 regime only adds to the wines’ approachability and digeste character. And the wines from the top of the range will age effortlessly and provide thrilling drinking down the line for the lucky few.
Lucien Boillot & Fils Wines
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN 2021
100% Pinot Noir
100% Pinot Noir (12.5% alc.)
Pierre has 12 parcels of village Gevrey which total 2.8ha averaging 50yo, though many are both older and younger – they are spread all over the village, north towards Brochon, south towards Morey, some higher altitude and others lower. The importance here is the overall high average vine age, and Pierre likes to stress the importance of a wine and its tannins being in harmony from the start, especially for pinot. Destalked 100% in 2021 along with all the wines in the cave, there’s delicious cherry fruit with good depth, liquorice and touch of spice, very sapid with good lift on the finish where tannins are fine grained. It’s the emblematic cuvée of the cave (the most important holding) and sets a very high standard indeed.
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN 1ER CRU 2021
Les Evocelles
100% Pinot Noir
100% Pinot Noir (12.5% alc.)
This is an unusually well-placed lieu-dit, lying at the northern tip of the bank of fine 1er Crus (including Clos Saint Jacques) that sweeps round to the north-west of the village. Les Evocelles faces due east, at the same height as most of the other 1er Crus on the hillside, and Pierre’s 0.27ha plot is right above the 1er Cru of Les Champeaux. It’s a rocky terroir with quite a diversified soil mix derived from limestone and marl. It seems a strange anomaly that this is the only vineyard in the bank that is not 1er Cru and Pierre is justifiably fiercely proud of it, as he believes it is the best non-1er Cru climat in Gevrey! The vines here are 70yo and confer a pronounced mineral character with an irony undertone to the wine. It is definitely a richer more gourmand style than the village wine, deeper in colour too, with a darker cherry fruit but lifted by a refreshing salinity. Like the village bottling you can drink this wine in its youth with great pleasure, but it deserves a few years in bottle.
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN 1ER CRU 2021
La Perrière
100% Pinot Noir
100% Pinot Noir (13% alc.)
Pierre has just 0.09ha of this excellent 1er Cru which lies just to the east of the country road that runs south of the village towards Morey. It’s about 100m away from the 1er Cru Les Cherbaudes, on the same gentle east-facing slope alongside the 1er Cru of Clos Prieur, and all of these 1er Crus are renowned for their elegance and subtlety. Many centuries ago, there was a quarry here, subsequently filled in and planted with vines. The 50yo vines are planted in a very shallow topsoil close to the limestone bedrock, and always confer a wine of grace and class. There’s an 'aérien' feel, with detailed, very pure lifted fruit which kids you into thinking that it is on the light side, but there’s actually an excellent and persistent stamp of mineral infused fruit on the finish. For drinking now to 2028.
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN 1ER CRU 2021
Les Corbeaux
100% Pinot Noir
100% Pinot Noir (13% alc.)
Les Corbeaux is a fine 1er Cru planted tight (high density) to the southern edge of the village, just above the road to Morey, and next to Mazis-Chambertin GC. In the Middle Ages there was originally a cemetery here hence the name 'les corbeaux' that translates as the crows! Two thirds of the 0.45ha of 60yo vines are planted going up the hill close to the limestone and one third at the bottom in deeper soils. One of our regular favorites at the domaine, there’s a distinct wet stone element on the nose, greater depth and range to the kernel of sour cherry and red berry fruit entwined with herbs and spices (fenugreek comes to mind), it’s the perfect weight, and the finish goes on and on. Grand Vin in our books. For drinking now to 2028.