Domaine Henri Boillot : Bonnes-Mares Grand cru 2021

Tasting characteristics and advice for the Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2021 from Domaine Henri Boillot

Tasting

Color

The color reveals a bright red hue with floral highlights.

Nose

The nose reveals delicate red fruit aromas, accompanied by subtle floral notes and a touch of pepper. Nuances reminiscent of cherry pit complete this elegant bouquet.

Palate

On the palate, the wine stands out for its precision and delicacy. The tannins are well integrated, offering a refined structure that suggests fine aging potential. The mineral dimension characteristic of the Bonnes-Mares terroir appears in the background, supporting the fruit expression and the complexity that will develop over time.

Food and wine pairing

This Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2021 pairs perfectly with roasted game birds such as pheasant or wild duck. It also goes well with beef dishes in sauce, such as tournedos or beef tenderloin served with a wine reduction. Cheese lovers will enjoy it with aged washed-rind cheeses such as Époisses or Langres.

Serving and cellaring

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2021 is best served at a temperature between 14 and 16°C. This wine can be enjoyed from around 2026 and will continue to evolve until around 2050, or even beyond under optimal cellaring conditions.

A Grand Cru from the Côte de Nuits combining elegance and complexity

The estate

The Domaine Henri Boillot traces its origins back to 1885 with the Boillot family in Burgundy. Henri Boillot joined the family estate in 1975 before establishing Maison Henri Boillot in 1996. In 2005, he bought out the family shares and renamed the estate after himself. Based in Meursault, the domaine spans 15 to 19 hectares, divided between white and red grape varieties. Since 2008, his son Guillaume has joined him and oversees the winemaking of the red wines. A pioneer of highly sustainable, meticulously managed viticulture since the 1990s, the estate has established itself as a benchmark for its white wines and is building a growing reputation for its outstanding reds.

The vineyard

The Bonnes-Mares is a Grand Cru shared between the communes of Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-Saint-Denis, in the Côte de Nuits. The appellation covers around 15 hectares and benefits from an east-facing exposure on gentle slopes ranging between 250 and 310 meters in altitude. The soils display remarkable diversity: the upper sections, known as "Terres Blanches", are made up of fossil-rich limestone marl, while the lower sections, known as "Terres Rouges", rest on denser clay-limestone substrates. This geological complexity, with shallow soils of around 40 centimeters over a limestone bedrock, gives the wines of Bonnes-Mares their mineral character and distinctive aromatic depth.

The vintage

The 2021 vintage in Burgundy was marked by a spring frost episode that affected many vineyards. Flowering took place at the end of May under more favorable conditions, followed by particularly rainy months in June and July. Unsettled weather persisted from mid-July to mid-August. Despite these climatic challenges, meticulous producers were able to craft fine-quality wines with promising aging potential.

Winemaking and aging

For the Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2021, the grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted. Destemming is carried out at between 75 and 100%, depending on the assessment of the vintage. A cold soak of five to seven days precedes fermentation, allowing the extraction of aromatic compounds and color. Total vatting lasts around 21 days. Malolactic fermentation takes place naturally, without intervention. Aging lasts between 16 and 18 months, including 12 months in 225-liter oak barrels of varying ages, with a measured proportion of new oak to preserve the expression of the terroir. The wine is neither fined nor filtered before bottling, in order to retain the full breadth of its texture and complexity.

Grape variety

100% Pinot Noir