- Reminiscent of Burgundy Legend Jackie Truchot ($1,000)
- Some of the Most Pure, Crystalline Wines in Burgundy
- Yes - Insane 1er Cru Burgundy You Can Drink NOW
Drink These Wines and Laugh at the "Burgundy Is So Expensive" Crowd
2017 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Taillpieds"
- 2016 got 94 points from Neal Martin at Vinous
- Very Low Yielding 60+ Year Old Vines
- Nose: Flowers. Earth. Ripe, Focused Red Berry Fruit
- Very Dense and Layered
- The Platonic Ideal of Volnay
- Palate: Terrific Tiny Berry Fruit Intensity
- Elegant, Textured, Terrific Energy and Precision
2017 Francois Buffet Pommard 1er Cru "Le Clos Micot"
- Right Near Volnay - So Supple
- Nose: Animal, Sauvage, Deep, So So Perfumed
- Plums, Red Berries, Warm Spices, Deep Dark Deep Cherries
- Flowers, Mineral, Licorice
- Classic Animal Sauvage
- Palate: Dense, Sweet, Deep, Juicy
- Very Old Vine Fruit Character
- Elegant and Lithe
If you could pick the perfect storm in a bottle of Burgundy, what would it be? I'd say, the combination of producer, vineyard and vines. Well, today.... today I have two wines that hit it out of the park on all three fronts.
1) Some of most highly regarded vineyards in each of Pommard and Volnay.
2) Vines that are 80+ years old and 100 years old, creating some of the most complex, dense, silky and elegant Burgundies I've ever had.
3) A producer who knows how to extract the essence from these miraculous wines but keep the wines elegant.
Oh, and the wines are both $67.99 because I'm ahead of the curve and I bought them direct
from the estate.
Francois Buffet
I am super excited for every one to taste my new super star estate in Volnay, Francois Buffet. I adore the style here. The wines are so elegant and finesse-driven they are like a cross of Enderle & Moll and Francois Bertheau. That's initially what comes to mind. But there is also some Jacky Truchot as well as the color is so light But there is also some Jacky Truchot as well as the color is so light but the flavor is so, so intense. What's even more amazing about Buffet is that they have 11, count 'em, 11 Premier Crus. And not just any Premier Crus, it's a murderer's row.
The Wines
Up first is one of the top Volnays at Buffet in that they actually served this to me after the Clos du 2017 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Taillpieds" for $67.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. The 2016 got 94 points from Neal Martin at Vinous. 2017 is just as great but very different. If you have not had the 17 Champans from Buffet please open one ASAP as it is glorious after 90 minutes and can be drunk young. The Taillpieds comes from very low yielding 60+ year old vines. The soils are very stony and the resultant wine has head spinning aromas and the most velvety palate one can imagine.
The nose is utterly classic. So much aroma. I could live in these aromas. Stunning mid season cherries. Gorgeous minerals. Flowers. Earth. Ripe red berry fruit but very focused and keeps and keeps unraveling over hours and days. It has such lift and tone. High and low toned. Deep. Crisp. The nose is so slamming. So dense and layered. After hours deep ripe Macerated cherries, intense expansive minerals, floral notes with earthy, feral notes and such nuance. The level of Sous bois aka undergrowth in this is stunning. It's bouquet is so elegant and so refined that is almost the platonic ideal of Volnay. The nose is just wonderful and will put a smile on anyone's face.
The palate is so balanced, insanely pure, and ridiculously juicy. So much tiny berry fruit intensity. Man this is pure. Like high end juice almost and not wine but it still remains vinous. That's purity. Elegant and textured with terrific energy and precision. So long and so velvety with sweet but not too sweet mid season cherry fruit and inimitable balance. Insanely long. Stunning. Hint of creaminess adds to the allure. This is easily a top wine from Buffet.
Below is Neal Martin's 94 point (VERY HIGH FOR NEAL MARTIN) score for the 2016.
"The 2016 Volnay Les Taillepieds 1er Cru has a very elegant and defined bouquet with ample pure red berry fruit mixed with sous-bois and wild hedgerow. Just wonderful. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity, crisp tannin, a subtle creaminess emanating from the new oak towards the finish, but it feels reassuringly long and deep. It constitutes one of the best wines that I have tasted from this producer. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting in Burgundy." - 94 Points Neal Martin Vinous, 2016
Up next I've got an amazing Pommard that is super close to Volnay, the 2017 Francois Buffet Pommard 1er Cru "Le Clos Micot" for $67.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. This is next to 1er Cru Les Poutures and also abuts Volnay. I love this 1er Cru as it is so supple as it is so near Volnay compared to other sturdier Pommard 1er Crus.
The nose blew me away. Animal, sauvage, deep and so so perfumed. Wow. Plums, red berries, warm spices and deep dark deep cherries. Wow. Just so Pommard with some Volnay chromosomes. Flowers, mineral, licorice and that classic animal sauvage from the unique Le Clos Micot. After air it gets so confectionery. The color is as light as one would expect from Buffet.
The palate is so dense, so sweet, so deep and so juicy. Red and black cherries galore. Just stunning sweetness and purity. Big ripe and velvety tannins with insane inner mouth black and red cherry aromas.So dazzling and so pure. It's a big big boy on the palate with insane density and structure and oodles of sappy dense and very old vine fruit character. It's stunningly fresh and balanced with insane levels of concentration and huge huge explosive fruit but backed by intense sense of soil and place. Hint of spice on the long, complex and energetic finish. So delicate yet also substantial. Elegant, juicy and sleek. Terrific inner mouth aromas. Lovely elegant and lithe structure and has the sweetness of the fruit but also the stoniness of Pommard. The finish has firm Pommard tannins that are amazingly ripe and sweet but also pumps huge amounts of fruit to every nook and cranny of your palate. Also that energy keeps this wine engaged with your palate.
2017 Francois Buffet Volnay 1er Cru "Taillpieds" - $69.99
($203.97 3-pack) (*Including Tariff of $7.98)
2017 Francois Buffet Pommard 1er Cru "Le Clos Micot" - $69.99
($203.97 3-pack) (*Including Tariff of $7.98)
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