Graced by talent – Charles Boigelot

The air conditioner is humming in the Winehog’s office and summer has finally reached Burgundy … too late to save the 2024 vintage … perhaps !

Next on my calendar are three talented vignerons: Nicolas Faure, whom you may know, Marthe Henry, who you should know and lastly, a completely new talent, Charles Boigelot.

Charles Boigelot is 22 years-old and is the next generation at Domaine Eric Boigelot, his father’s estate. The estate is located in Meursault.

Charles Boigelot produces his small portfolio of wines at his father’s Domaine …. In 2022, he produced his first vintage – one red, and then in 2023, he made three wines.

This is where the plot thickens and the wines get interesting. Eric Boigelot makes some very good red wines – these days, fully de-stemmed – and a number of very fine whites in a lovely, clean, pure and mineral style.

In 2023, Eric’s son, Charles, made two whites in a similar style to his father’s whites, with a slightly sharper aromatic style and profile. On the red side, he made one cuvée, a very exciting Monthélie, made from 100% whole-cluster grapes. The red cuvée was made in both 2022 and 2023.

Charles Boigelot and his father don’t quite see eye-to-eye on the reds. While one cannot see huge differences in the whites … it’s the battle of the reds … with the father keeping his de-stemmed style. Funnily enough, Eric used to make the wines from 100% whole cluster … and while I have only tasted one of his old wines (a 2011 Pommard), I think the father was onto something in the “old” days.

Eric and Charles agree on many aspects of vinification and viticulture, enough to continue working together.

Both domaines are interesting, but personally, I really find the wines of Charles Boigelot more interesting and sharper …

Short background

Charles has an impressive background for his age and the the two years spent at Coche-Dury does give respect …

2 years at domaine Coche-Dury, with Raphaël Coche.
1 year for Maison Vincent Girardin in Meursault, with Eric Germain
1 year at domain Paul Pillot, with Thierry Pillot

There is no doubt that this helps to explain Charles’ talent … but I need to taste more to see where he found his stylistic inspiration.

Wines, Vineyards and terroirs

Meursault and the sourrounding appelations have numerous vignerons and producers. Some are relatively unknown despite their talent and a nice portfolio of vineyards.

One such producer is Charles Boigelot. Like his father, Eric, he is from Monthélie, a village located just above Meursault … Despite the somewhat lesser known vineyards in Monthélie, they produce very good whites and even the reds are fine. The Monthélie vineyards may be lesser known than the reds in Meursault, but mark my words, they are worth following.

Charles Boigelot started out in 2022 with one red and continued in 2023 with the same cuvée, Monthélie Le Plante

Red recipe
o Grapes are hand-picked
o Whole grapes system – between 50% and 100%
o Maceration without SO2
o Short vatting with very light extraction
o 100% Indigenous yeasts
o Long and light press, with no turbidity. Clear transparent juice only.
o 15 months ageing, no new barrels
o The bottling process is settled by hand, bottle by bottle.

Charles Boigelot Monthélie Le Plante 2023

The Monthélie Le Plante 2023 is a vineyard located in the very top part of the appellation just under the forest with western exposure. The soil is mainly limestone, hence, a vivacious minerality. An interesting terroir for a whole-cluster wine. The 2023 is 100% whole-cluster vinified without sulphur. It is at least partly semi-carbonic therefore very expressive and lively. Lovely fruit … strawberries and a fine delicate minerality of limestone … No new oak in the 2023 … very delicate, though the 2022 with new oak presumably worked slightly better. It has lovely tannins … finely grained … I love it.

(Drink from 2028) – Very Good – (89p) –

Charles Boigelot Monthélie Le Plante 2022

The 2022 Le Plante is a pure treat …. more silky and sensual perhaps, with the new oak showing its positive side … it’s lightfooted with an explosion of strawberries … so delicate and vivid. Has fine tannins … very lightly extracted … airy and very fruity. A great promise from a very talented vigneron.

(Drink from 2029) – Very Good – (89-90p) –

The White 2023s

The Whites from Charles are made using the following recipe:

White recipe
o Grapes are hand-picked
o Long and light press, with no turbidity. Clear transparent juice only.
o 24 hours of sedimentation, with temperature control to avoid the start of alcoholic
fermentation
o Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations in barrel
o 100% Indigenous yeasts
o 15 months ageing, no new barrels
o The bottling process is settled by hand, bottle by bottle.

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I will need to taste more to compare with his father’s wines … For now, they seem better defined and more precise than his father’s wines.

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