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In England they call these "bin ends"... I guess because they keep the wine in bins? And they are almost gone? Something like that... in any case, I have five delicious Burgs for you that you may have missed... or maybe want more of! Supplies are limited. Please reply to order.
.jpg) Domaine Georges Glantenay Volnay Vieilles Vignes 2019
Sale $49.99
Buy 3 or more - $45.99 93 pts Wine Enthusiast / 91 pts Burghound "Outstanding" / 92 pts Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
“This is a domaine to watch carefully as this is a team with talent and the vineyards to make some great wines.” Burghound Let's consider some similarly-rated Volnay... - Olivier Leflaive Volnay Clos des Angles 1er Cru 2017 - 93 WE @ $111
- Louis Latour Volnay En Chevret 1er Cru 2018 - 93 WE @ $110
Domaine Georges Glantenay was founded in 1893 in Volnay by Pierre Glantenay. Today the estate is managed by the 4th generation Guillaume and Sarah Glantenay. There are just 8 hectares of vines, farmed with sustainable agriculture, with the greatest respect for the terroir. With the greatest care the vineyards are managed plant by plant to produce wines whose personality reflects the authenticity of the Burgundy terroir. The harvest is entirely manual, and the rigorous selection: the grapes are sorted first in the vineyard and then a second time when they arrive in the vats using a vibrating sorting table.
This gem is sourced from 60+ year-old vines in 3 different parcels. A couple rows here... a couple there... from vines as old as 80 years! All aged in French oak barrels, 20% new. I absolutely adore this wine, with its lush, inviting aromas of sweet black cherries and spices. On the palate the wine has is silky textured with a great attack of ripe blackberry and black cherry along with lots of spice, earth and hints of oak; the finish is very savory, polished and toasty.
“Old vines in this case means over 60 years in age. With its richness and generosity, this wine has good concentration alongside ripe black-plum fruits. This richly endowed wine has the potential to age well." WE / " A densely fruited nose freely offers up its aromas of dark pinot fruit, pretty spice and ripe plum nuances. The elegant, pure and more concentrated medium-bodied flavors are agreeably refined, and I particularly like the texture on the finale. This is lovely and worth considering." BH
 Domaine Michel Juillot Mercurey Clos des Barraults 1er Cru ROUGE 2018
Sale $39.99
90 pts / "Outstanding" Burghound (92+ pts Wine Advocate for 2017)
In Mercurey, a village nestled in Burgundy on the famous Côte Chalonnaise, the Michel Julliot Estate, which has existed for four generations, cultivates 30 hectares of vines producing a large selection of the best "climats" Mercurey has to offer. And the walled parcel “Clos des Barraults” is certainly their best! With a perfect south-southwest aspect, 900 feet in elevation, from vines planted in 1972, 1980 and 1995, Clos des Barraults sets a standard for Mercurey that few can match!
18 months in oak, 30% new, gives the wine an up-front spiciness and accessibility. All the grapes are destemmed, so there are no excess stem tannins, just gorgeously ripe and attractive notes of strawberry, raspberries and anise melded perfectly with fine tannins. Proprietor Michel Juillot, the fourth generation owner of the estate, purchased a new press in 2009 that has led to a more gentle extraction of the fruit, resulting in finer, more refined tannins.
“The 2017 Mercurey 1er Cru Clos des Barraults is one of the more reserved wines in the range, unfurling in the glass with a promising bouquet of cherries, cassis, candied peel and espresso roast. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with succulent acids, melting tannins and a pure, precise finish. As usual, it's one of the finest wines in the range and one that possesses some upside. " WA on the 2017
 Georges Glantenay Volnay 1er Cru les Brouillards 2018
Sale $59.99 - Beats Best US Price by $15 per bottle!!!
94 pts Wine Enthusiast / 92 pts Burghound
Domaine Georges Glantenay was founded in 1893 in Volnay by Pierre Glantenay. Today the estate is managed by the 4th generation Guillaume and Sarah Glantenay. There are just 8 hectares of vines, farmed with sustainable agriculture, with the greatest respect for the terroir. With the greatest care the vineyards are managed plant by plant to produce wines whose personality reflects the authenticity of the Burgundy terroir. The harvest is entirely manual, and the rigorous selection: the grapes are sorted first in the vineyard and then a second time when they arrive in the vats using a vibrating sorting table.
55-80 year old vines located on the lower slope on the Pommard border (below Fremiets); 100% barrel aged, 30% whole-cluster fermentation; 33% new oak for 16 months. Ripe blackberry and cherry fruit, roasted meat, forest floor present themselves on the nose; Super attack with lots of power; dark fruit compote, tree bark, very savory and spicy with lots of calcaire driven earth qualities; very compact and good tension; the finish showcases the earthiness aspects of the wine and is excellently complex and long.
“A touch of iron oxide enriches the red currant and cherry notes of this wine. The palate offers exquisitely elegant concentration, like silk that flashes highlights of cranberry and lowlights of tar, licorice and coffee. Pervasive freshness will guide this wine throughout its evolution.” WE
“ A mentholated top note can be found on the ripe yet cool essence of red currant and soft earth and spice wisps. The seductively suave, round and caressing medium-bodied flavors are plump and generously proportioned while retaining a refreshingly saline finish that is sufficiently firm to suggest a 10 to 12-year aging curve.” BH  Domaine Poulleau Père & Fils Volnay “Le Vertueux” 2018
Sale $49.89 - Beats Best US Price Online
90 pts Wine Enthusiast
A double dose of good fortune here...the importer needed to make room for the 2018 vintage, so he cut us a deal... and the wine was brought in pre-tariff, so it was already a great deal!
Well, for once, my Burgundy story has nothing to do with global warming but something possibly more frightening – the tax man.
Domaine Polleau was created in 1950 by Michel Polleau and is now run by his son and daughter-in-law, Thierry and Florence. It is a small domain of just 7.3 hectares. They own small parcels in seven different appellations, including a tiny plot in Corton Charlemagne and a prized 80 year-old vineyard in Volnay 1er Cru Chanlin.
Well, except they don’t. You see, a few years back, a neighbor sold their Chanlin Volnay 1er Cru vineyard and the new owners did a survey for the tax man and it was determined that about 75% of what Poulleau had been selling as Chanlin 1er cru was actually just village level. They sold off the 25% of true 1er Chanlin, as it was now too small to do a separate bottling.
Talk about a bummer. Nothing changed. Nothing. Except the price they could charge.
I suppose they could increase the yield in that vineyard (more is allowed for AOC Volnay), and reduce the use of new oak to get volume up and cost down. But the Polleau’s have decided to work the plot the same way they always have, treating it as 1er Cru.
For this special bottling, they have taken one barrel of their “Premier Cru Chanlin” and a selected barrel of their regular Volnay and blended them together.
Reflecting the 2018 vintage, the wine is packed and stacked, offering dense black fruit, a velvety texture and fine tannins on the finish that will reward a little decanting. "ripe, red forest fruit and a juicy, almost bouncy, core supported by ripe, supple tannins that still brush slightly. It's fresh and lively on the finish." This will drink well for 10+ years!
 Aubert Lefas Pommard 1er Cru “Les Poutures” 2018
Sale $49.99 – Beats Best US Price Online
90-92 pts Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
The average price for wines from Les Poutures bottlings are north of $95!
Aubert Lefas is the current manager of this estate, having married the daughter of current owner François Jullien de Pommerol, himself a former professor at the Beaune Oenology school. Located in downtown Pommard, the family’s holding dates back as far as 1783. The main label produced by Aubert is under the Domaine Lejeune name. This is the exact same wine, not a second level, but with a different label (produced for the importer) on the bottle. He kindly does this to help us avoid the restraining import agreements associated with the Lejeune wines. The short story is that you get the same wine at a much lower price by reducing the markups! Buy the juice, not the labels!!!
As you may expect from an estate that dates back 235 years, the wines are traditionally made and slightly rustic. They still use old, open top birch fermenters (the oldest in the region), they use whole cluster fermentation, and they even still smash grapes by foot. Why change what has worked for centuries?
60% whole cluster; 15% new oak; others ranging from 1-3 years. Located mid-slope on the Volnay side of Pommard, below Les Rugiens. Bold nose of red flowers and earth with hints of tanned leather; very approachable now; round and full in the mouth again presenting a very earthy, savory expression of Pommard; very old-school it that way; fresh mushroom, toasty oak and brown herbs though the finish.” Brisk purple, a sweeter richer nose with peonies, there is flesh on the bones here, notable length and good class.” JM
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