2023 Domaine Jean-Marc Bouley Volnay 1er Cru "Carelle Sous La Chapelle"

The 2023 Volnay 1er Cru Carelle sous la Chapelle unwinds in the glass with notes of sweet plums, ripe berries and orange zest. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and enveloping, its fleshy attack gives way to a taught, chalky finish. As readers may remember, this terroir is characterized by rich but shallow red clays that give way to big chunks of fractured limestone, and perhaps that's why it always seems to deliver wines with a front-loaded attack but a structured finish. Walk through the vineyards of the Côte de Beaune, and Thomas Bouley’s eight hectares of vines are easy to spot. Their unusually high, evenly spaced canopies are hedged high and late (after bunch closure), casting dappled shade over supple, aerated soils that are often covered with a delicate carpet of grass and weeds. At harvest, his yields are moderate, and clusters are invariably open and healthy. Vineyards don’t look like this by accident, and it’s both Bouley’s results and the indefatigable work ethic that lies behind them that have won him the near-universal admiration of other growers along the Côte d’Or.(WK)