2011 Bouchard Père et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 90.6 points

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  4/9/2021 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Substantial ruby color, pretty consistent to the rim. Nose trembling on the precipice between primary and secondary characteristics, creating an absorbing tension. Deep penetrating red fruits, noticeably black cherry, bracketed by emerging sous bois and a defined mineral streak.
  
  1er cru weight on the palate. I'm struck by the acidity that actually causes the tip of my tongue to tingle. Fine-grained tannins pierce the perimeters of my gums and recede with apparent graphite-laden mineral qualities. I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed.
  
  This isn't an especially elegant rendition but it combines very attractive fruit and secondary notes in a compact and attractive package. I'm not licensed to say so, but it reminds me more of an earthy, crunchy Pommard than Volnay. It also makes me believe that in an absurdly priced market for Burgundy you can still find spectacular value in theoretically lesser vintages.

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  3/24/2018 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Premier cru intensity from the pour. I could smell it before I got it closer than arm's length. It has an intense, winy and ripe fruit-driven nose-all kirsch and black fruits, earth, graphite-like minerality and wood, almost reeks in a good way. Quite velvety in the mouth as befits the appellation in general and Clos de Chenes in particular, a lush texture that balances nicely with some sour apple on the finish and very gentle tannins. Still a bit of a bruiser but has the texture and flavor to soldier on.

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  6/28/2016 - bevetroppo wrote: 90 Points

  I have a lot to commemorate with this note. It's a milestone (#1300, but who's counting?), a tribute to my liver, and to Burgundy, which over the 10 years+ years I've been at this on cellartracker.com represents 27% of my note-taking output-which as we say in the financial realm, is a concentrated position.
  
  Burgundy was also on my mind as my brother forwarded an article this morning by Elin McCoy (is she the real one? hard to tell from her journalism), proclaiming the death of Burgundy due to the recent run of calamitous vintages and the growing worldwide interest stripping inventories bare and turning the wines into hedge fund trophies.
  
  From my perspective, this has always been the case. I could never afford DRC or Leroy no matter how bountiful the harvest and still can't. But I'm not complaining a bit. I'm extraordinarily fortunate that I can open a bottle like this on a random Tuesday night when Elin McCoy has just done her best Cassandra imitation and given Burgundy a dose of the Clape.
  
  Turning to more serious critical guideposts, I've always been mystified by the palate-ial discrepancy between how Jancis Robinson and Allen Meadows regard Burgundy tasting windows. This wine is a mere toddler at age 5-Jancis said you can start to glug-glug in 2015; Burghound says don't start until 2021. I'm no mathematician, sir, but that's a gigantic discrepancy over a 10 year span. It's either a case of "to each his own", or they don't know any more than we do, which is cold comfort in an expensive and variable region like Burgundy. However, my own experience recording 349 Burgundy notes and probably drinking 100 other burgs without notation is that in these last 10 years there has been a tremendous upsurge in consistency, and that's helpful at any age. 2011 was beset with issues of weather and pestilence, but you wouldn't know it here.
  
  In a fascinating nod to the above debate, out of the bottle I would say Jancis has it right-first impressions were light, airy, open and appealing notes of cherry,minerals and forest floor, not a lot of depth but excellent freshness expressed in a taut acid finish. But after an hour, the Burghound's perspective starts to make sense as it seems to be closing up, becoming leaner and less inviting. Tannins dominant the finish with a little chewing. Then two hours later it swings back the other way, while filling out a bit more. Go figure.
  
  Premier cru quality is hard to ascribe, but that's from a guy who always goes with the vintage chalk whenever possible, and therefore depth is usually not an issue.
  
  Bottom line, I think it's still too young, and will improve over the medium term as it relaxes and the fresh, inviting fruit gets a little more breathing room. But that's the beauty of Burgundy, to always make you ask, after all, what do I know? So says note 1300.

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  3/21/2016 - Sixchips600 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Seems to have lost a notch since my bottles last year. A touch drier and less elegant. Still very nice.

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  5/16/2015 - Sixchips600 Likes this wine: 93 Points

  I really enjoyed this. Pure Pinot fruit and gentle oak with a gorgeous perfume. Dry and not fruit forward but excellent fruit flavors. Probably better in a few years but why wait.

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