What's Pressoir Drinking - Domaine Jean-Baptiste Boudier, Pernand-Vergelesses 2020

Raj Vaidya
October 6, 2022

This week, Edouard, Daniel and I are in Beaune visiting a bunch of producers that are new to us, and so we’ve been lucky enough to have an opportunity to taste a lot of wine we had not been familiar with previously. In that very spirit, I grabbed a bottle from a local shop where I trust the selection of a Pernand Vergelesses Villages from Jean-Baptiste Boudier. Having never heard of the producer, I asked the caviste for a little background on the domaine. Jean-Baptiste’s first vintage was 2015, after he took over a humble 3 hectares from his family holdings (his dad makes the wines at the family estate.) He has a lot of experience for such a young guy, including working for Nico Rossignol in Volnay/Pommard, Vieux Telegraphe in Chateaneuf du Pape and even Château Haut Brion in Pessac-Leognan.

The farming leans towards organic but he is not keen to pursue certification at this time, as his livelihood depends on his meager holdings and he isn’t ready to take the chance. But he confirmed he uses no pesticides and herbicides, and is only keeping the possibility of managing for mildew in a tough year if neccesary in his back pocket.

The wine was very charming. Despite being from the fairly warm 2020 vintage, it had great lift and salinity, a nice mix of citrus and orchard fruits, and decent length on the palate. Jean-Baptiste notes three climats in Pernand which make up this cuvée, a total of 1 hectare and so one of his biggest holdings.

A lovely discovery!