Bouchard Pere & Fils, Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets - Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 2019
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95
James Suckling
This a firm and pretty red with a solid tannin backbone to the medium body. Ripe fruit with some walnut, tobacco, and floral undertones. It’s long and flavorful. Balanced and firm. Classic style. Drink in 2025.
This is complex and aromatic, featuring cherry, plum, sandalwood, licorice and spice aromas and flavors. The supple texture is punctuated by vibrant acidity and refined tannins, showing fine balance and length. Drink now through 2030. 150 cases imported.
The 2019 Volnay Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 1er Cru has a slightly smudged bouquet, with raspberry and strawberry fruit, sous-bois and leather. Could there be just a touch of Brettanomyces here? The palate is medium-bodied, with a slightly saccharine entry, modest depth, and lower acidity than Clerget’s Caillerets, leading to a slightly monotone finish. Not bad, but it lacks a soupçon of pedigree. Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting.
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Bouchard Pere & Fils, Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets - Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 2020
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92-94
Wine Advocate
Cropped at a derisory 15 hectoliters per hectare, the quality of Bouchard’s 2020 Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot is some compensation for the lack of quantity. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of dark berries, rose petals, plums, raw cocoa and orange rind, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and velvety, with powdery tannins, lively acids and a long, fragrant finish.
Upfront floral and licorice aromas, but it needs some aeration for the red berries to emerge. A rich and fleshy wine for this appellation that’s associated with silky elegance. Crisp tannins and lively acidity keep this bright. Needs some time to settle down and open up. From a 3.76-hectare plot in this well known 1er Cru. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2023.
The 2020 Volnay Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 1er Cru has a
perfumed, more floral bouquet with more fruit intensity than Boillot’s Chevret. Sous-bois touches percolate through the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. Again, what feels like quite a lot of whole bunches, but the stems slightly occlude the terroir expression on the finish. Maybe just a little cork taint? Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting.
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Bouchard Pere & Fils, Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets - Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 2022
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95
Decanter
The parcel of Volnay Caillerets was the first Pinot picked in 2022 due to the thin soils and superficial nature of the limestone. The wine has an alluring aroma of blackberry and mulberry fruit with hints of boxwood, bay leaf, and peonies. The texture is supple and velvety, with rewarding concentration and density. The team at Bouchard sorts rigorously for ‘figuée’, grapes shrivelled by sunburn; technical director Frédéric Weber says success depends on ‘keeping it crunchy’. This wine should open soon after release and is suited to mid-term cellaring, although a 1962 from this vineyard tasted this year was still fresh.
The 2022 Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot is showing especially well, bursting with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with spices, rose petals and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, it’s pure and ethereal, with lively acids, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish.
The 2022 Volnay Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 1er Cru has a nicely detailed bouquet with black cherries, raspberry coulis, wild mint and a touch of dark chocolate emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and modest weight, very nicely balanced with a smooth, cocatinged finish. It will need 4-5 years to absorb the 30% new oak.
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