- The 17s Were Among the Best Young Côte de Beaune Collection I've Ever Had
- The 19's Blow the 17's Away
- Pure Aromatics
- A Little Bit of Sexy, Sensual Sistine Chapel
- Juicy and Utterly Delicious Even As They Are So Elegant
- Very, Very Sadly Extremely Limited
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Clos de la Rougeotte" MONOPOLE
- .52 Hectare Monopole
- A Wine of Exquisite and Undeniable Finesse
- Nose: Super Spicey and Complex
- Very Refined, Ethereal Mid Season Cherry
- Firm Cherry Brightness
- Cherry Flower
- So Seep, So Intense and Superbly Complex
- Palate: Sweet, Silky Mid Season Cherry Fruit
- Substantial Structure
- Fruit is So Sweet and So Decadent
- Under $60 - Unheard of Prices For Burgundy This Elite
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Le Village"
- Prime Real Estate
- Neighbor of Jadot's Monopole "Clos de la Barre" and Pousse d'Or's Famous Monopole, "Bousse d'Or"
- Mostly Owned By The Hospices De Beaune
- One of the Most Complex, Friendly Ready to Drink Burgundies from a Noble 1er Cru Terroir I've Ever Had
- Haunting, Ethereal Buffet Sytyle - Delicate and So Graceful
- Palate: So, So Accessible and So, So Friendly
- Huge Complexity, Huge Sweet Fruit
- Velvety Silky Tannins
- Amazingly Precise Long Finish and Superb Freshness
- Would be $90+ 3-Tier
- Under $60 - Unheard of Prices For Burgundy This Elite
The Winery: Francois Buffet
Brisset's wines are the most utterly precise. The palate is alsmost like you are drinking a liquefied work of art.They are almost otherworldy in their perfection. The precision of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Rebourgeon's wines are at the other end. Crazily delicious, juicy mostly blackberry fruit. Yes, they are brilliantly well made and balanced with lovely aromatics, but the headline is the fruit, which is miraculous.
Pierrick Bouley's wines are so structured and muscular and take several years to unfold. Old school, in the most beautiful way. But when they unfurl, watch out - these are some of the best red wines in the Côte de Beaune.
Francois Buffet's wines are somewhat in the middle. You get that stunningly juicy fruit (cherry) that is so good you have to hold yourself back from drinking it all. One simply does not guzzle 1er cru Burgundy. But you also get that brightness. Gorgeous, almost, sexy aromatics. Pure, clean fruit with lovely florals and spice. More Michaelangelo to Brisset's Da Vinci. There is a little bit of that sexy, sensual Sistine Chapel in these wines.
I had a range of Buffet's 17s and Buffet's collection of 17s was possibly the best collection to drink young that I've had in my career. And the 19s crush them.
The Wines
First up is the great monopole of Francois Buffet, the Clos de Rougeotte. I'd never heard of this site before and now it's one of my favorites. The 2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Clos de la Rougeotte" can be had for $59.99 a bottle on the 4-pack. Clos de la Rougeotte is a .52 hectare Monopole that has been in the Buffet family winery for generations. I found a picture of it on a blog post from 2014 on page 6 of a Google search linked here. It's surrounded by high walls and the soil is rich in clay content. The Clos de la Rougeotte makes wines that are very delicate and very subtle. Combine that with the ethereal Buffet style already and you have a wine of exquisite and undeniable finesse. But in 2019 it has an added density and sultry fruit that makes it deceptively accessible. I love this wine but drink one young and age the other 3. Drink the Le Village 1er Cru below young.
Nose is super spicey and complex. Lovely. Really some incredible spice here. Asian spices, hint of wood spice and so much more. There's very refined mid season cherry on the nose under all that spice but I think it will take a few hours to get there. Gorgeous stoniness as well. Wow this is lights out. Crushes 17 and 18. Now the cherry flower and mid season cherry voluptuous quality is coming out.
Sick nose after mega air now. Gorgeously refined and ethereal cherries, spice, confectionary aromas and even more spice. Seems to be a trademark of Rougeotte. It's so deep, so intense and superbly complex with juicy, deep, ripe flavors with super precise and deep, deep fruit. After air you get cherry flower, spice and an amazing confectionary quality on the nose. The nose is a 9.7. Easy.
Didn't let up on Day 2. Deep, dark penetrating nose of elite intensity! Stunning cherry details. So vivid. Super elite. Layers and layers. Just a knockout. Can't believe how great this smells.
Oh man what a palate. Just sweet, silky mid season cherry fruit and such wonderful roundness. Sick juiciness and so so pure. This is a smoke show. Complex and so sweet. This is silk. Substantial structure buried under that silk. Just an insane wine. Best Rougeotte ever. I think this is a 9.7. Wtf? What a finish. This is so effing refined and so sweet and so luxurious. This is epic! Whatever price I'm charging is too cheap! What an insane hit of midpalate opulence and serious concentration with just insane inner mouth aromas. Long.
On day 2, balance is perfect. Fruit is so sweet and so decadent. Medium bodied and perfect ripeness. Just stunningly pure. So good. Amazing wine. Fruit skin fruit intensity and terrific acid and spine. So lithe yet intense. This needs 3-4 years but wow!
Today I also have the 2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Le Village" for $59.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is a vineyard that is within a whole cluster of 1er Crus in the center of the village. As far as I know the Hospices de Beaune owns most of this very rare 1er Cru. The location is very sheltered and it creates its own micro-climate. The vines are young, 10 years old, but I didn't know that bit of info until after I tasted it. It's prime real estate as it located just below Jadot's Monopole "Clos de la Barre" and across the road from Pousse d'Or's famous Monopole, "Bousse d'Or." The style of wine of Le Village is super silky with incredible delicate and fine grained tannins that are just pure velvet. This was the first wine I tasted in the cellar and I adored it. One of the most complex, friendly ready to drink Burgundies from a noble 1er Cru terroir that I've ever had. I can say 100% you can drink this today and it will age 10+ years but this will be impossible to resist today. It's 100% seductive.
Haunting nose of sweet mid season cherry fruit, sous bois, wet earth, desiccated leaves, flowers (violets?), citrus zest and so many other nuances. Just a zany great nose. It's screaming "I am Volnay" in my nose. After air it gets expansive with deep and precise spice on the nose with mid season cherry and precise cherry flowers. The nose just sucks you in with that haunting, ethereal Buffet delicate, graceful quality and style.
Day 2 it gets so good! Heaven in a nose. Spicey, mid season cherry, cherry flower, candied but in best way possible. Super super aromatic. Lovely dusty earth and stoniness. Just sick. Vast overnight improvement.
The palate though is really the story here. It is so, so accessible and so so friendly but exhibits all one could want from an elite Volnay 1er Cru. Palate is OMG heaven. Silken, sweet and seductive. Awesome mid season cherry fruit and perfect balance. Haunting finesse and a sphere like roundness and then such freshness that keeps it alive and dancing on your tongue. Such lacey, sweet and delicate tannins. Truly special. Unreal purity. 2019 is the real deal. This is liquid cashmere. It is so finely knit. It's got huge complexity, huge sweet fruit, velvety silky tannins and an amazingly precise long finish and superb freshness. There is ample minerality and such grace, finesse and elegance. It is ultra refined and so fine. I have no idea why Francois Buffet is a star. I have no doubt these prices will only go up. I think Buffet 1er Volnay Crus are $100+ dollar wines qualitatively.
On day 2, palate is silky, sweet and fresh. So nimble. Red Riesling! Sweet fruit, tannins and light to medium bodied with perfect balance. This needs 2-3 years but wow.
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Clos de la Rougeotte" MONOPOLE - $61.99 ($239.96 4-Pack)
2019 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Le Village" - $61.99 ($239.96 4-Pack)
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