Expansive, Fruity, Gorgeous, Elegant...Haunting...And That's Just the Nose. My Miraculous New Producer in Volnay - Beautiful 2012's

I love Volnay and have been on the lookout for a flagship Fass Selections producer. When well made, the wines can be just staggeringly elegant with aromatics that are absolutely hauntingly beautiful. Like being lost in a dream of a field of lilacs on a perfect spring day.  The problem is there are not a ton of great producers and the last 3 vintages have had horrible hail so no one has wine to sell.  So how did I get a new great producer?

Basically, I begged.

I am thrilled to introduce to you the wines of Réyane and Pascal Bouley, who were gracious enough

to give me a small allocation from their paltry remaining stock.  Volnay has become very expensive. Partially because it is incredible and partially because the region gets pelted with hail every year (my car was shredded by hail last summer).  These wines are utterly classic in terms of balance and aromatics but very drinkable.  Extremely well balanced and very mineral.

I don't like to sell on price because it is a disservice to the growers.  But when I applied my modest markups to the wines, I had to triple check my math.

The first wine is the 2012 Réyane & Pascal Bouley Volnay for $29.99 on the 4 pack.  My what a magnificent village Volnay!  Deep, deep and pretty nose.  The palate has terrific fruit with chalk, mineral and serious structure. Tremendous wet earth as well. Lovely, pretty, long finish and very bright terrific red fruits.  You don't find many village wines with this level of drinkablity and complexity out of the gates.



 - Compare Girardin Village Volnay at $45 - $50.
 - Compare Drouhin Village Volnay at $47-$60.


This wine should easily cost $60 and it's under $30.  This wine is not even a no-brainer.  You don't even need a nervous system to see what a value this is.  Strong dollar plus me buying direct from the winery and skipping 2 layers of distribution.

The second wine is from one of the top Premier Cru Vineyards in Volnay and a vineyard that arguably make longer lasting wines than any vineyard in Volnay: the 2012 Réyane & Pascal Bouley Premier Cru Cru Clos des Chênes for $59.99 on the 3 pack.  This wine is the soul of elegance. Stunningly fresh cherry fruits...like the first cherries of the season with perfectly balanced acidity. Intoxicating nose.  This wine has the structure to age and improve for decades and demands it. This is not for young drinking. The powerful typical stony mineral tannins of Clos des Chense that fan out on the finish and pump the fruit and mineral indicate that this is super structured and needs 15+ years. Volnay lovers are already deciding how many cases they want at this price.  For everyone else, this is Volnay royalty and a once in a lifetime chance to try this at an affordable price. This is Limited and will be allocated

The 2012 Clos des Chênes from Drouhin (Estate Bottled) goes for $100 - almost twice the price and I vastly prefer the Bouley.

Never have I ever met more hospitable people along the way of my Fass Selections journey than Pascal and Reyane Boulay. Gentle, beautiful souls perched atop the small village of Volnay. When I got there, I felt a cold coming on halfway through the tasting but soldiered on and am glad I did as the wines are fantastic and classic, pure expressions of Volnay. I was also very lucky as they have a small but decent amount of stock of some very serious 2012 Volnays. I've wanted to sell some high quality 2012 Volnay because it is such a tremendous vintage.

So what is the style here? These are classic, polished and very mineral driven wines but also with dramatic and intense and voluminous fruit. The fruit is more of the tiny red cherry kind then the darker fruits you get in Vosne or Nuits. The style is overwhelmingly drinkable and utterly classic. I tasted all the 12's and it was like a masterclass in Volnay terroir. They have a serious amount of terrific 1er Cru's and it is amazing how different they all are. I was thoroughly impressed by these wines. They are subtle, refined, elegant with impressive fruit and always incredible balanced. There are two types of wines at this estate. Ones that can age long term and ones that can age short to midterm and be drunk young. I am offering one from each group today.


2012 Pascal & Reyane Bouley Volnay AC - $32.99 ($119.96 4-pack)
2012 Pascal & Reyane Bouley Volnay 1er Cru "Clos des Chenes" - $64.99 ($179.97 3-pack) (LIMITED - ALLOCATED)