From a site above Volnay Caillerets and Santenots (acquired from Ropiteau, and rated the best in its village in the groundbreaking mid-19th century classification of Jules Lavalle) the Bouchard 2006 Monthelie Clos des Champs Fulliot features fresh cherry and ginger with aromatic overtones of violet and mushroom. Its refreshing, subtly chalky character seems to reflect its cool, breezy location, and fine-grained tannins permit a silken texture. I would have taken this blind for a very good Volnay cru, and it should offer lots of pleasure over the next 3-4 years. Director Philippe Prost emphasized the importance of flexible and surgical picking (with a crew numbering upwards of 300) and getting his crop to Bouchard's battery of presses within two hours via a fleet of mini-vans. He insists that relatively little triage was necessary on the domaine vineyards (as opposed to those under contract) and the estate wines are certainly predictably stronger as a group. (I have generally mentioned in the notes that follow which wines are from Bouchard's domaine and which from contract fruit, but have explicitly noted this as part of a wine's description, only if there are two versions of the same appellation within the present portfolio.) The fruit was crushed very gently and the wines racked only once – at 10-14 months, than usual – explains Prost, in order to guard against exposed or drying tannins, a policy which my tastings suggest was generally successful. Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6767