Jean-Baptiste Boudier Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Sous Frétille

In 2014 as Jean-Baptiste worked together with his father at their family domaine in Pernand-Vergelesses it was clear they had very different approaches to winemaking and viticulture. It was clear to both father and son that the ambitious Jean-Baptiste needed to go his own way. By this time Jean-Baptiste had already worked stints at wine estates worldwide including Nicolas Rossignol in Burgundy, Vieux Télégraphe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château Haut-Brion in Pessac-Léognan & Domaine Gauby in Rousillon.

The parcels are worked organically and are regularly ploughed to turn the wild herbs growing between the rows back into the soils and also to encourage the roots to delve deeper. In the cuvérie the wines are made with a very light touch. The must is fermented by indigenous yeasts in stainless steel with gentle extraction of tannin and colour. Sulphur additions are kept to an absolute minimum. The input of new oak is modest to allow the cool terroirs he works to express their fruit with clarity and precision. This exciting domaine shows that genuine greatness can be achieved in humble terroirs when ambition is combined with compassionate intelligence, hard work and perseverance.

"There is great precision to this wine, with forward, lush aromas of ripe apricot and a floral edge that leads seamlessly to a texture that is rich and yet lively, with no hint of heaviness. The elegant balance carries this to a lingering finish. The grapes are pressed as whole clusters and vinified in a combination of 228-, 300-, and 350-litre casks, 50% new. It is bottled after a year, and the relatively short maturation means it does not pick up too much oak. Very well done." - Charles Curtis MW, Decanter