From an early-ripening site, the 2019 Monthélie 1er Cru Clos des Champs Fulliot delivers aromas of plums, cherries, dark chocolate and smoke, followed by a medium to full-bodied, richly layered and velvety palate that's lively and long. This is a more textural, enveloping interpretation of Monthélie when compared with the racier Duresses, but both are extremely promising in their very different stylistic registers.

The 2018 Monthélie 1er Cru Clos des Champs Fulliot offers up scents of raspberries, blackberries and licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, lively and muscular palate that was still a little compact when I tasted it. I suspect it will flesh out with further élevage.

Bouchard’s 2008 Monthelie Clos des Champs Fulliot smells of cherry, fresh ginger, and chalk dust, in a manner slightly reminiscent of a Volnay Clos des Chenes. Lush and refined yet bright – its fresh red fruit underlain by rich chocolate as well as chalk – this finishes with satisfyingly juicy persistence and savory salinity, further accented by hints of almond and cherry pit. I suspect it will continue to reward for at least 7-9 years. Director-winemaker Philippe Prost made no attempt to minimize the challenges of 2008 and was careful to distinguish between its wind-borne concentration and genuinely ideal phenolic maturity (approached more nearly this year in white than red). He opined that the wide window afforded for relaxed picking despite the late calendar date was critical, since the levels of ripeness were so disparate from one site to another. That said, he showed me an outstanding collection of Pinots. Ironically, as he pointed out, ripeness was also disparate in one of the two earliest vintages on record, 2007, yet picking – while fitful – was anything but relaxed due to the pressure of rot. And here, too, Bouchard scored excellent successes. By means of, where necessary, “swapping lees” between barrels to inoculate stubborn lots, Prost says he was able to get all of his 2008s through malo-lactic conversion in timely fashion, which he considers especially important with Pinot. Bottling of the 2008 reds – with a few exceptions mentioned in my notes and due to have been bottled in April – took place in December and January, the same schedule adopted for their 2007s. I did not have an opportunity to taste nearly all of Bouchard’s vast collection from either vintage, and have in the text of my notes indicated a few from among their 2008s that I take to represent significant omissions. (I have not noted “Domaine” to distinguish those wines that are part of the Bouchard, except in cases where there is another otherwise eponymous wine.) Importer: Henriot, Inc, New York, NY; tel. (212) 605-6767

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

Violets and candied dark berries can be detected in the nose of the 2002 Monthelie Les Champs Fulliots (domaine). Medium-bodied and sporting jellied black cherry fruit flavors, this is an extroverted, lush wine with excellent depth of fruit. Projected maturity: 2005-2011. Importer: Clicquot, Inc., New York, NY; tel. (212) 888-7575