Article: 2024 Henri Boillot
2024 Henri Boillot
On Friday Burghound released his report on the first half of 2024 White Burgundy (producers A–M), and as I've been telling you for the past four months, this vintage has produced some truly compelling wines. The top bottles are spectacular, very much in a classic style — and by that I mean wines that are more tightly wound, with acidity and freshness leading the way at this point in their evolution.
I did pop a bottle of the recently arrived Henri Boillot Clos de la Mouchere the other day and was mesmerized by the length and depth it displayed. It took some coaxing to draw out a tremendous amount from the nose, but the real fireworks are on the palate. This is a wine that sneaks up on you and absolutely explodes on the finish — penetrating minerality, mouth-coating density, with a finish that rolls in waves for close to a minute. Grand Cru in every possible way.
I started buying these wines early and, after my visit to Burgundy in March, doubled down wherever I could. As I've also written numerous times, production is down tremendously and simply securing some of the wines has been challenging. As is always the case the top wines always move first, and once people digest Burghound's comments, I think many of these will disappear from the market quickly.
I received the first wave of my allocation on last month's container, so a number of wines are now in stock. The remainder of my allocation should arrive sometime over the summer, with everything ready to go by fall. This is a classic white Burgundy vintage — and one not to be missed by anyone serious about the category. I can't recommend these wines highly enough. Top to bottom these are wines worth owning!
This is the entry point into the spectacular lineup this year. A wine of energy and cut with tremendous freshness and length. This will round out and have a bit more flesh in time, hard not to like at this point however.
This is now from 100% domaine fruit in the vineyards of Petits Charrons, En Luraules, Chevalières, Casse Têtes and Les Pelles). Moderate wood sets off cool and airy aromas of green apple, acacia blossom, lemon-lime and crushed fennel. There is fine volume and punch to the utterly delicious middle weight flavors that possess solid mid-palate density while displaying excellent length on the bone-dry and zest-inflected finale. This is an excellent Meursault villages and worth a look.
- Burghound, 90/2031+
(from 1 ha of evenly mixed vines in Houlières, Charmes, La Rue aux Vaches, Rue Rousseau and Enseignères). Smoky reduction is sufficient to overshadow the underlying fruit so if you’re tempted to crack a bottle young, be sure to allow a few minutes for a thorough aeration. More interesting are the exuberantly fresh and bright middle weight flavors that possess good if not special density while exhibiting fine balance on the sneaky long finale. This is a lovely Puligny villages and almost delicate.
- Burghound, 90/2031+
A discreet though easily perceptible dollop of wood can be found on the aromas of citrus confit and Granny Smith that are also notably floral-suffused. There is a lovely sense of underlying tension running the length of the delicious and overtly stony flavors that possess a noticeably finer mouthfeel before culminating in a youthfully austere, complex and impressively long finale. This is lovely and worth your interest.
- Burghound, 91/2030+
(a monopole measuring .62 ha that is actually part of Les Cras). A beautifully layered nose combines notes of orange peel, smoky Granny Smith, petrol, acacia and a pretty range of spice nuances. There is both excellent volume and richness to the bigger-bodied and more powerful flavors that deliver seriously fine length on the balanced finale. This could use better depth so at least a few years of keeping are in order though I underscore that the aging curve of this stunningly good effort is easily a decade plus.
- Burghound, 94/2034+
An even more floral-suffused nose reflects notes of green tea, mineral reduction and a more subtle touch of wood. The tautly muscular larger-scaled flavors retain a similarly sleek mouthfeel while exuding a discreet stoniness on the powerful and impressively persistent finish. Poruzots always ages well and this well-made effort is going to need up to a decade of it to reach its peak.
- Burghound, 92
(from a .66 ha holding). Cool and beautifully elegant aromas include those of honeysuckle, citrus confit and a lovely array of floral nuances, all of which is trimmed in just enough wood to notice. There is a bit more volume to the caressing and sophisticated flavors even though they’re not particularly dense, all wrapped in a superbly long, balanced and complex finale that is even firmer. This is also very classy and a wine destined for a long life.
- Burghound, 95/2034+
(from 60+ year old vines and the vineyard is a whopping 4 ha monopole within Perrières). Here too the lightly wooded nose displays a panoply of floral nuances that include rose petal, lilac and acacia blossom with additional notes of just grated zest, spice and green apple. There is almost painful intensity to the slightly more concentrated and more mineral-driven flavors that conclude in a chiseled, youthfully austere and sneaky long finale that seems to go on and on. The Clos de la Mouchère is always excellent but in 2024, it is genuinely stunning.
- Burghound, 96/2034+
