- Incredibly High Quality
- 50% the Number of Bottles
- Top Wines in This Vintage Will Be Very Hard to Source at Retail
Francois Buffet
- One of Burgundy's Top New Producers Bar None
- When These Wines Are Open, They Can Go Toe to Toe with Pretty Much Anyone
- Prices Are Still so Inexpensive Its Ridiculous
- Among the Most Delicious Wines in Burgundy
- Phenomenal Levels of Density and Complexity
- Wines That Slow Your Perception of Reality
Brisset Is More About Elegance, But for Pure Pleasure, You Cannot Beat these Wines At This Price
Drink These Wines and Laugh at the "Burgundy Is So Expensive" Crowd
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Clos des Chenes"
- Nose - Such an Intense Perfume
- Superbly Comeplex
- Huge Cherry. Mid Season Cherry.
- Cherry Flower, Blackberry Flower
- A Gorgeous Whisp of Lilacs
- Blackberry, Spices and Licorice
- Palate: So, So Complex and Utterly Profoundly Juicy
- God's Cherry
- Some Boysenberry Fruit
- Terrific Concentration
- Hits the Palate Like a Miracle
- Amazing Tiny Berry Fruit
- Perfect, Perfect Balance
- Can Drink Young, Will Last 20+ Years
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Champans"
- A Grand Slam Home Run
- The 2017 Vaporized a 98 Latour Side by Side
- Why You Pay for Volnay
- Nose: Licorice Flower
- Condensed God's Perfume
- Let Me Die Now Good ... And That's Just The Nose
- Palate: Simply Perfect, Flawless
- Dense ... But Volnay Dense
- Incredible Fruit Quality
- Concentrated Lilacs
- So Dense, So Sweet
- Wine of the Year Quality
- Only $62.99
- Compare Other Top Champans Producers at $100-$230
First, A Rant Why You Absolutely Need to Buy These Wines
OK, I said in the title I would pay $150 for these wines. That is not an exaggeration. I would snap them up for that price. Why?
1) They are among the mosy spectacularly delicious wines in my book. The fruit intensity, clarity and delineation is stunning. You can serve them to anyone from a complete novice to the Prince of Wales and they will be shocked by the delicious fruit.
2) The aromatics are off the charts. Classically, you buy Volnay for those lilac aromatics. These wines have lilac aromatics almost beyond what should be possible in nature. If you told me he was literally adding lilac extracts to the wine, I would believe you. I would pay $63 just to smell these wines.
3) The wines have incredible balance and clarity. Do you know how hard it is to make wines with this much delicious fruit and this level of elegance? The answer is obvious - it' almost impossible.
The QPR is so far beyond anything else at this price point in Burgundy, it's ridiculous. For sheer bang for the buck this is better than almost anything in Germany.
Oh - and this is the 2019 vintage which, is incredible.
2019 Burgundy
This is the most complex vintage I've been associated with since we opened Fass Selections. First the quality is extremely high. All my winemaking partners and all the critics seem to agree. Second, quantities are down 50-60%.
Brisset vs. Buffet
Great artists are often associated with and contrasted with each other. The precise multi-layered paintings of Da Vinci can be contrasted with the more sensual works of Michelangelo, for example. In economics, the schools of Keynes and Hayak still battle today.
On our list, we have 2 established brilliant producers in Burgundy.
- Brisset's wines are so precise that they almost defy our concept of how we conceptualize the perceived randomness of nature.
- Buffet's wines are a bit rounder and fuller - they defy our preconceived notions but in a different way. When I drink them, they trigger so many flavor receptors in my brain, they almost overload it almost like when you have too many windows open in your computer - reality seems to slow down to a crawl. The fruit density and complexity is at an absolutely elite level. All of this while retaining extraordinary balance.
To summarize:
VERY HIGH QUALITY
VERY SMALL QUANTITIES
Below is a great Burghound comment on 2019.
"With respect to other vintages that 2019 might reasonably resemble, somewhat surprisingly, growers nominated relatively few unique vintages, meaning a direct comparison with only one. Most, at least among those who proffered an opinion, did so by invoking two vintages, such as part 2009 and part 2010, or part 2015 and part 2016 or even a blend of 2017 and 2018. The idea behind these hypothetical blends is combining a ripe and generous vintage with one that is finer and more transparent. I would go with half 2009 and half 2010, as 2019 offers the richness and generosity of the former with the finesse, punch and gorgeous terroir definition of the latter. If I had to choose just one vintage with which to compare 2019, I would have to go way back in time to 1966 or even 1949." - Burghound
Up first is the 2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Clos des Chenes" for $62.99 a bottle on a 4-pack.
First look at some of the prices for good to top Clos des Chenes in 2019.
2019 Jadot Clos des Chenes - $79.99
2019 Fontaine-Gagnard Clos des Chenes - $89.99 - $99.99
2019 Bouchard Pere & Fils Clos des Chenes - $99.99
This wine is made from mostly 80 year old vines and also a small section of 12 year old vines.
The nose is insane. Just superbly complex with classic Clos des Chenes aromas that leap out of the glass.
Huge cherry. Mid season cherry, cherry flower, and like 2% sour cherries. After some air, raspberry and even some briary and damson aromas. Just amazing. Huge florals as well. Iris and even fig! Yes, fig! It's there. Just an intense perfume but also this earthy, mulchy element that I just love. It smells like it is from revered land. Elite terroir. Blackberry, spices and licorice also come through. This is so layered and complex. I mean this is old vine Clos des Chenes after all.
Huge cherry. Mid season cherry, cherry flower, and like 2% sour cherries. After some air, raspberry and even some briary and damson aromas. Just amazing. Huge florals as well. Iris and even fig! Yes, fig! It's there. Just an intense perfume but also this earthy, mulchy element that I just love. It smells like it is from revered land. Elite terroir. Blackberry, spices and licorice also come through. This is so layered and complex. I mean this is old vine Clos des Chenes after all.
The palate is a stunner in that you can taste and feel the density yet remarkably, it still remains light on its feet as that is the genius of Francois Buffet. It's so, so complex and utterly profoundly juicy with just startling purity. Big, big cherry and boysenberry fruit. So pure and crunchy. Sleek as well. Simply terrific concentration and wonderful tiny berry fruit with velvety and super refined tannins. My goodness this is just silk but it also has density and structure. It's so unique.
The finish lasts miles and exudes grace, class and elegance. It's at once harmonious but also grippy with those silky fine tannins.
For $63 this is insane. I've never ever had such a great terroir be so accessible at this young age. You can drink this young and enjoy it but it will easily last 20+ years.
Up next is the 2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Champans" for $62.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. First look at some of the prices for good to top Champans in 2018/2019.
2019 Josseph Voillot - $74.99 - $99.99
2018 De Montille - $100-$135
2018 Comtes Lafon - $140
2018 Marquis d'Angerville - $160-$230
Stunning, killer nose. So aromatic, gentle and delicate. So much spice and depth. Sweet spice, exotic ginger, gorgeous and perfectly ripe mid season cherries. One of those noses that is just belies the color. But I think I've had enough light colored Pinot to know that those usually have some of the most pungent and aromatic noses out there. It has stunning florals after some air. I was shocked how aromatically open this was at this point and in the cold cellar conditions. Just a stunning wine. Combine Buffet's gentle, expressive style, the forward lusciousness and insane extract of the 2019 vintage and the early appeal of Champans this wine is a grand slam home run. This is the Buffet that will make you fall in love with the estate like I did.
On the palate, there is uncommon depth here, with stunning textured, that is silky, velvety and pushes lively ripe sweet mid season cherry gracefully across your palate mineral overtones that weave in and out of the heavenly texture. There is an incredible concentrated lilac element here that takes this to another level. Interwoven spice as well. Super juicy with stunning inner mouth aromas that accent the florals and sweet cherry fruit. The balance is just gorgeous. It's liquid silk. There is a hidden structure that I know will make this a terrific mid term ager. I'd say that based on experience from other Champans, but the winery was gracious to open a 2010 Volnay Champans and it was stunning and exhibited truffle elements and amazing complexity and texture. Truly a brilliant starting to get secondary Champans. I think the 2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru Champans will drink wonderful from day 1 and age 10-15 years but will be at peak in 2029 or so.
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Clos des Chenes" - $64.99
($251.96 4-Pack) SOLD OUT
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Les Champans" - $64.99
($251.96 4-Pack) SOLD OUT
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