The Boussey Style
– Classic Old School Burgundies
– But with Borderline Elite Fruit Precision
– Terrific Juiciness
– Amazing Palate Soak
– Persistent But Elegant Texture
– 22’s are the Best Vintage Yet for Boussey – Like 19.
– Ridiculous Values for the Price
2022 Laurent Boussey Volnay 1er Cru “Taillepieds”
– 900 Bottles Made
– 75+ Year Old Vines
– Nose: Slamming, Complex, Layered
– Cherries, Minerals, Flowers, Earth
– Huge Kirsch
– Superb Mineral Depth
– Palate: Achingly Beautiful
– Cherries, Minerals, Sap
– So Elegant and Beautiful
– This Should Cost At Least Cost Double this Price (2014 was $68 at a store in NYC via 3-Tier Years Back)
– Perhaps Best Value in Elite 1er cru “A Tier Vineyard” Volley
– You Cannot Find any Decent Taillepieds Under $90
A Lament
Percy Bysshe Shelley
O world! O life! O time!
On whose last steps I climb,
Trembling at that where I had stood before;
When will return the glory of your prime?
No more—Oh, never more!
Out of the day and night
A joy has taken flight;
Fresh spring, and summer, and winter hoar,
Move my faint heart with grief, but with delight
No more—Oh, never more!
A Lament
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the great romantic poets of England. He is perhaps most famous for Ozymandias (“king of kings”). He was not universally beloved because of his open belief in atheism and is more well regarded today than he was in his lifetime. This brief poem , I think, captures lamentation quite beautifully and sadly, my feelings about this offer..
Boussey’s 2022’s are beautiful and when I taste wines like this, I want everyone to have them. Not really so that I can make money but just because I want everyone to experience a beautiful thing. They are amazing wines and wines that are from the type of vintage that put Burgundy does so well these days. A modern classic is what I call it. They have silky tannins. terrific cut, thrust, freshness and acids, fruit that is perfectly ripe like 19. This is a throwback vintage to 19 and one made by Burgundy growers for the new type of Burgundy lovers. It is a vintage of charm and approachability and that’s key as for Boussey the only vintage truly approachable now is 2017 and 19 seems to be coming out of its slumber. 18 and 20 need time (less some of the lower appellation wines like Monthelie, SLB and Beaune) and 21 is singing now. But 22 has that early charm and ability to age.
I actually had a customer call me once and ask if the price for this wine was correct. It is. Laurent Boussey is making incredible wines but he is way early on the recognition curve even in France.
You are getting an A Tier Vineyard from a great producer for the price of Negociant Volnay Village wine.
And Volnay prices are going to skyrocket in 2022 as 2021 was a short vintage. I don’t have case pricing here, but if you like Volnay, you should consider getting a case (if I have it) – it’ll last 15+ years and you’ll easily drink a bottle a year.
Compare 21 and 22 Taillepieds below.
- 2022 Bitouzet-Priuer – $74.99
- 2022 Domaine Clos de la Chapelle – $119.99
- 2021 de Montille – $175.00
- 2021 d’Angerville – $240-$280
The Boussey Style and His 2022’s
Boussey outdid himself in 2022 and blew me away with his quality. His 17s, 18s, 19’s, 20’s and 21’s in barrel were truly stunning wines and he has really made a move in these vintages up the quality producer ladder in Burgundy. And now we enter 22. His best red vintage.
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 22’s but will and can age. There is incredible transparency. 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 slick and 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. Anyway, these are shimmering beauties and just jump out of the glass and charm you. I am very happy with Laurent and his 22’s are the best vintage yet. The 2022’s of Laurent Boussey are the pinnacle of his winemaking since I have started working with him and he told me that recently over email. He is right. Mother nature threw everything she had at Laurent he he persevered and made insane wines.
The Wines
Laurent notified me that his 2022 Laurent Boussey Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds ($57.99 a bottle on a 4 pack purchase) is ready but I don’t have much. Laurent’s grandfather planted these vines and they are at least 75+ years old. Stunning in every way. This is subject to confirmation.
The nose on this wine is legend. I can say that now that I’ve had 8 vintages. Wow. It has such lift and tone. High and low toned. Deep. Crisp. So dense and layerd.Macerated cherries, intense mineral,floral,earthy and so much nuance. What a nose. Out of this world. Candied mid season cherries. Outrageously confectionary and so so aromatic. An aromatic assault. After air it gets sick. Awesome nose here. Super floral and so mineral. Deep black cherry fruit and huge kirsch. But in the best 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 22 Volnay fireworks are there. 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. Achingly elegant and refined. Really shows it’s breed and class. Yet while being all breedy and classy make no mistake there is fruit here. The best 22 s remind me of the best 2010s and 2019’s. They exhibit the clarity of fruit married with site perfectly. It also exhibits shadows of the dazzling Taillepieds terroir that will 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 dazzlingly 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.
Midjourney
As you know, we believe that strict recitations of tasting notes is only part of the story of a wine. We’ve always tried to include metaphors to try to give our readers a better understanding of how wines impact us. These metaphors have included architecture, painting, music and poetry.
We’re trying something new to help create visual metaphors using Midjourney, a generative artificial intelligence program that is by far the best image gneratour out there. I’ve messed around with a bunch and this is by far the best. We look forward to hearing your feedback.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 with your order if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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