TN: 2018 Anne Boisson Bourgogne Blanc (France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc)

I don’t know about others here but the ”solar” 2018 vintage has got me worried and as such I am very hesitant with my purchases. That said when you have really enjoyed a wine in the past and the price is attractive you have to be open minded (I think). I can’t claim to fully understand the complexity of the Boisson family’s wines but my understanding is that you sort of think of them as one entity. Now I loved the 2015 Boisson-Vadot (a label that does not exist anymore) Bourgogne Blanc, I found it pretty close to a proper Meursault experience, so I had to give this one a try and so I bought a couple of bottles. Could not be much more different! A good and interesting wine nevertheless, so all is well. Would love to hear someone explain the differences between Anne, Pierre and BV, though.

  • 2018 Anne Boisson Bourgogne Blanc - France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc (21.4.2021)
    Very gentle on the nose with sunny lemon-driven fruit, the slightest hint of oak (mostly in the way of nuttiness), cereal and some beeswax. Quite timid, but pleasant and correct. On the palate somewhat on the rich side with notably firm mouthfeel. Akin to the nose the flavors are pretty restrained and it is the texture that mostly stands out. Not oaky at all really then but the richness and volume hints that some was used. Far from showy, this almost feels like it tries not to be friends with you with its pretty neutral fruit expression. That said I find it difficult to not like it as it carries its weight gracefully with pretty considerable powerful underneath and does not feel unbalanced, the least so in the persistent finish that is marked by attractive nutty tones. The 2015 Boisson-Vadot was very easy to love, this is the opposite. If given the choice I would probably go for the former but that is not to say that this is not impressive. Will be interesting to try my other bottle in five years or so.

Posted from CellarTracker

Can’t answer your question about any stylistic difference between A & P, but FWIW the retailer I bought both wines from said Pierre’s 2018 was showing more at this early stage than Anne’s. Haven’t tried Pierre’s yet, but my impression of Anne’s 2018 from a couple weeks ago is pretty much in line with yours, especially your descriptors of its “gentle, lemon-driven” nose that is “quite timid, but pleasant and correct” and a palate that is “restrained” with a “pretty neutral fruit expression.”

You can tell this wine is very well made, nothing’s out of balance. But nothing about it really grabbed me either. No interesting angles. Got a little bored with it honestly. Didn’t get the level of richness and texture you did or a sense of an underlying power. To me, it leaned to the elegant side. I was expecting more volume considering the vintage.

Would like to revisit it in a few years, but not at the price I paid. In comparison, the 2018 Jessiaume BB, at $20 – about half the price of the Boissons --is more fun to drink right now, IMO.

Interesting observations, thanks for sharing. Obviously the price paid plays a role and I don’t think this overperforms its 30€ price point necessarily like the 2015 BV did but then for my palate it does not underperform either. Would I rebuy? Probably not as there is so much interesting wine out there in this category and outside it and by all means I am trying to focus on vintages that offer more freshness and vibrancy than 2018 (here’s to hoping they still exist!).

Yes, at $30 I would be inclined to buy few more to stash away for a bit. Like you I’m being selective with the 2018 Bourg Blancs b/c of the general vintage character and actually find myself backfilling primarily with 2016s and 2017s, which I’ve found suit my palate – at least the handful or so producers I’m focusing on. I’ve only started paying attention to basic Bourgognes recently since the pricing of the village levels and up have increased so dramatically. Currently, I’ve found B. Clair’s and Pierre Morey’s Bourgogne blancs to be stunning values, especially with a couple years of cellaring. The '16 Clair and the '14 Morey, especially. I think the '17s from both are terrific as well and will match the formers.

Thanks for the recs! I’ve not come across Bruno Clair’s BB but will try if I can find it. I do have a bottle of Morey’s 2017 BB in the cellar but yet to try that wine or any other wine of his/theirs, though. I have personally enjoyed BBs from the likes of Sauzet, Roulot, Germain, Bernard Moreau and Jean-Marc Vincent but I don’t think the 2015 Boisson-Vadot was any less of a wine than any of those. I think in good vintages these wines deliver village level quality, sometimes more.

Agreed. That’s an eternal quest isn’t it, searching for basic Bourgognes (or any other entry level wines) that overachieve.

I’m intrigued now with the Boisson-Vadot, but unfortunately there is only one bottle available on W-S in the US - a 2014 at $86 plus fees at auction. $100 BBs aren’t on my radar normally, but the '14 has rave CT reviews, so, as you say of the '15, it must deliver pleasure above its labelled level.

I haven’t had any of the BBs from the producers you mentioned, though I love Moreau’s Chassagnes so I should try the Bourgogne. Haven’t seen J-M Vincent offered here.

I didn’t have any experience with BClair’s or PMorey’s BBs until recently. Stumbled across the '16 Clair at a local retailer I rarely frequent collecting dust at $27. That it had some age on it piqued my interest. Based solely on the only CT review of it that simply said it was “terrific” I decided to give it a try. Ran back the next day to buy the remaining two cases. I owe that reviewer a debt of gratitude. And he owes me an apology for my credit card statement that month. If I had to chose to drink just one sub-$50 BB from those I’ve had over the years, it would be this one without question. It used to be LeMoine’s but those are above $50 now.

The Moreys were a rec from a retailer in CA. I think the '17 is drinking very well right now but am holding my remaining bottles for a year or two to see if they evolve like the '14.

Daaaamn @ the BV auction price! I suppose if that is roughly the going rate for village/cheaper lieu-dit Meursault in the US nowadays and the vintage brings the quality above the wine’s 2015 version in a way that could be assumed then it’s not that much out of line but it certainly raises the expectations to a whole different level.

I don’t know if it is the wrong way to look at things in this day and age but going closer to the $100 range in the BB category I would mostly be comfortable buying the absolute trophy names like Coche and Ente but obviously that it not really possible at retail, only in restaurants in France. But then some people have been making Coche comparisons with BV so what the heck do I know. I do view the 2017 vintage very desirable like you do but, alas, they seem to be replaced by 2018s on the shelves pretty widely already.