1er Cru Volnay Taillepeds Costs $60-$260. I Have Remarkable Micro Production (600 Bottles) for $52.99 from an Incredible New(ish) Producer

Burgundy Prices Are Rising Faster than a Frozen Thermometer in a Sauna
Some Days Even I Can't Believe How Ridiculous The Values I'm Selling Are
For Top Tier Terroir, These Are Among the Best Values I Sell

2018 Laurent Boussey Volnay 1er Cru "Taillpieds"
 - 600 Bottles Made
 - 75+ Year Old Vines
 - Slamming, Complex, Layered Nose
 - Cherries, Minerals, Flowers, Earth
 - Achingly Beautiful on the Palate: Cherries, Minerals, Sap
 - This Should Cost At Least Cost Double this Price 
 - (2014 is $68 at Garnett in NYC via 3-Tier)
 - Not a Better Value Volnay 1er Cru I've Ever Encountered
 - Taillpieds - Directly to the Right of Clos de Chenes
 - Directly Above Champans

2018 Laurent Boussey Volnay Vieilles Vignes
 - Just An Incredible Bottle of Volnay for the Price ($39.99)
 - Super Pretty Nose: Red Fruits, Minerality, Flowers, Spice
 - Such Deep Fruit and Breadth
 - Fresh Cherries but Dense 
 - Amazing Palate Vibrancy
 - Stunning Palate Coating Texture
 - Like a Light Spray Gun on the Palate
 - Amazing Inch Deep Soak
 - Amazing for Village Volnay

Laurent Boussey 
 - Incredible Terroir
 - His Style Is to Let The Terroir Shine Through
 - The Word Is Getting Out
 - He Is Very, Very Good and Still Improving

Laurent Boussey outdid himself in 2018 and blew me away with his quality. His 17s and 18s in barrel are truly stunning wines and he has really made a move in these two vintages up the quality producer ladder in Burgundy. They are stunningly fruited wines with insane transparency, site character and top notch finesse. They have an accessible charm to them (as is the case with many 18s) and from his anything but basic village wines to his top notch 1er Crus you cannot beat this pricing. This is what

happens when you have a producer on the up and up with a DTC model. These are the epitome of classic Old school burgundies but also have stunning clarity of fruit as well which is one thing I've always noticed when a father takes over from a son in Burgundy. The fruit gets clearer and a bit more accessible as I did taste some of Laurent's father's wines and the fruit was decidedly more old school and a bit less clear. Same thing just happened at Bouley. Anyway, these are shimmering beauties and just jump out of the glass and charm you. I am very happy with Laurent and his 18s are fantastic.  We tasted with his father this year as Laurent needed a well deserved vacation and nothing was going to stop him. It was a very informative tasting and all the wines showed brilliantly.

Up first I have Laurent's best red and it is very allocated. It is also very very stunning. The 2018 Laurent Boussey Volnay 1er Cru "Taillpieds" for $52.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. Compare the 2014 at $68+ at 3 tier. First of all you cannot find any decent Taillpieds for under $60. He only makes 300 or so bottles a year so but in 2018 made 600 bottles. This as limited as it gets. 

Laurent's grandfather planted these vines and they are at least 75+ years old. Stunning in every way.

The nose on this wine is legend. I can say that now that I've had 6 vintages. Wow.  It has such lift and tone. High and low toned. Deep. Crisp. The nose is slamming. So dense and layered. Macerated cherries, intense minerals, floral, earthy and so much nuance.  Huge and deeply fruited nose. Wow. Dark black cherries, underbrush. Gorgeous, rich and enveloping fruit. Huge earth and a smattering of limestone. Super floral and so mineral. Deep black cherry fruit and huge kirsch. Jelly donut? But in thebest way possible. Superb mineral depth.

Palate.  This is the wine you smell for days on end before you take a sip. But then you do and the 2018 Volnay fireworks are there for your palate to experience ecstasy. Such intense sappy and well defined sweet dark cherry fruit. So sappy, sweet and direct. There is stunning density to this wine but it is also ethereal as well and not even a hint of heavy. Straight as an arrow. Like a laser beam on your palate. So stoney and mineral and intense.  Insane fruit depth on the palate. Huge power and concentration. Wow this needs some air. Tight. Coiled. So much material but tight. I can see this needing 5 years. Achingly elegant and refined. Really shows it's breed and class. Yet while being all breedy and classy make no mistake there is massive fruit here. The best 18s remind me of the best 2015 crossed with the 17s.  They exhibit the clarity of fruit married with site perfectly. It also exhibits shadows of the dazzling Taillepieds terroir that will only come with age. The minerality at this stage is very pronounced and that along with sweet sappy fruit and finesse is what makes this special terroir. This is achingly elegant and beautiful while also having body and structure and that old vine sap and minerality that suggest this is a keeper. It will charm in its youth but once it ages out it will be able to precisely summarize Proust after only having read it once. This is profound. The purity is terrific and it is dazzyingly juicy. The finish lasts forever and only begins truly when you think it ends. Like a leaf flowing down a lazy river on a late spring day. It winds through your palate with ease. The length here is remarkable and I could not believe it. I hope there is enough for demand as this is damn special wine. This will age gracefully for 15+ years. There is not a better value Volnay 1er Cru I've ever encountered.

On Day 2 it opened up more. gorgeously elegant nose. Awesome cherry fruit that is so precise and pure. Huge limestone. Even on day 2 it's still not reveled it's full self. Palate is massive and deep with astonishing concentration, purity and depth. Amazing sweetness and such sap and sucrosity. Awesome balance and freshness with furry tannins. Incredible extract. Needs 3 years but incredible wine.

Up next I have maybe one of the best mid range wines if we are in 3 tier but insane screaming values if we are at Fass Selections. The 2018 Laurent Boussey Volnay Vieilles Vignes for $39.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack is a screaming value. My god this wine is so good and you can drink it now with a decant (an hour when young).

Outrageous nose of perfectly ripened mid season/late seasons red and black cherries. Loads of earth and freshness from intense minerality. Fresh cherries, great density. Can smell this all day for the vividness of the aromas. And the purity and the depth.

Amazing palate. The first thing that you notice about the palate is the texture.  This is not normal village Volnay.  It absolutely soaks the palate in a clear but not thick way.  The entire inside of your mouth becomes alerted to the fact that the wine is there - it announces its presence.  Almost like a very fine spray gun. 

The fruit is stunning.  It has that early season cherry freshness but combined with terrific density so you get the best of both worlds.  I'm guessing this is the combination of old vines with the Boussey style (the wines all have great freshness).  Sweet sweet fruit. Concentrated and deep with oodles of fruit and big, juicy and ripe tannins. Awesome freshness and purity. Terrific inner mouth aromas. Long finish with accents of black cherry and kirsch. Likely needs maybe 2-3 years or a few hours open to be more expensive on the palate. All there.

Awesome as well on Day 2. Huge and deeply fruited nose. Wow. Dark black cherries, underbrush. Gorgeous, rich and enveloping fruit. Huge earth and a smattering of limestone. Palate is glorious with oodles of tiny berry sweet fruited intensity. Incredible power and concentration. Awesome palate. Maybe not the most elegant Volnay but what power, precision and depth.

The Estate
When I am tasting at a new estate I try to keep a poker face but being a passionate guy that is difficult in certain cases. It's easy when the wines stink as then I can keep a poker face and be polite and carry on with my day. But when the wines are very good to profound I always lose my poker face and start exhibiting the passion I am famous for and keeps everyone coming back for more. At Laurent Boussey I lost my poker face bigtime. I could not believe how terrific the wines were. After around the 4th wine, I blurt out, "you're a brilliant winemaker." My driver/translator looked at me like I was crazy as I was telling her the whole time not to show any emotion at new estates as we don't want to act desperate or show our hand. As soon as I tasted the fourth or fifth wine I had called the winemaker a genius and lost any leverage that I could of potentially had. And you know what? I don't care. The tasting became more relaxed as Laurent knew a deal was made and he could chill a bit. We had a wonderful tasting and the wines are just stunning. This is one of those estates that started with just a little bit of so so terroir.


Laurent started his own Domaine in 2003 after working with his father for a few years after he graduated wine school. He only had Monthelie red and white, one white 1er Cru and red and white Bourgogne. 2 hectares. He turned 2 hectares into 14. 7 came from from his father who retired and he inherited them, and the rest came from Laurent's relentless hard work and persistence. He told me was lucky and knows it as he knew many people who were retiring and who had parcels for acquiring. It's pretty amazing to go from 2 to 7 and then 7 to 14 with so many great appellations. I love the style at Domaine Laurent Boussey. Freshness is the name of the game here. These are so Fassy and fit into the core principles of what I look for in an estate. Having said that the fruit and terroir expression Laurent gets from his wines is nothing short of sensational. I was really wowed by so many of his wines. There is no one to compare him to in my book really. Laurent has Monthelie village and various 1er Crus in red and white, Volnay village and a killer 1er Cru, Pommard, Beaune and more!

2018 Laurent Bousseyv Volnay 1er Cru "Taillepieds" - $54.99

 ($211.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $6.08)

2018 Laurent Boussey Volnay - $41.99 ($159.96 4-pack) 

 (*Including Tariff of $4.31)