2018 Jean-Claude Boisset Bourgogne Les Ursulines Pinot Noir 750 ml

We search high and low for Burgundy that delivers—it’s a dizzyingly complex region—and when we first tried Boisset's 2018 Bourgogne rouge we knew we had a major winner. 

There’s a reason that even knowledgeable collectors from other regions can get overwhelmed by Burgundy. There are countless wines from a nearly endless number of producers—and it seemed like we had them all in paper bags, covering every surface of our office. We had been blind-tasting for hours before one bottle jumped out—a classical example that stood out for it’s quality and deliciousness. You could hear the excitement pass from person to person as we tasted it.

The color was pure Burgundy—glancing at it you understood how this ruby-cored wine could give its name to a shade of red. The nose was classical and poised, with dried flowers, a hint of thyme, bright black cherry, and red plum. On the palate, it showed as very Côte de Nuits: dark plums and pie cherries mixed with a hint of cedar and regal tannins that suavely coated our palates and delivered a long, lingering finish. It was exactly what we had been looking for all along, even if it took hundreds of bottles to get there.

When we pulled the wine out of the bag, it  made sense that this delicious value would be the Les Ursulines. Jean-Claude Boisset, led by winemaker Grégory Patriat (a protégé of one of Burgundy’s most famed winemakers, Lalou Bize-Leroy) has been on a roll this decade, with 17 scores over 95 points in 2016 and '17 alone.

Boisset spares no expense to make the finest possible bottles, using techniques on their Les Ursulines that most producers only bring into the fold for their premier and grand cru wines. Yields are kept at a minimum and vinification is done with native yeasts—they're willing to take risks in pursuit of complexity and this wine shows that drive, even with a humble appellation on the label.

Their vinification room is full of beautiful wooden tanks, abandoned by most wineries for cheaper, easier-to-maintain stainless steel, which produce lovely textures and aromatics on finished wines. Pumping and racking are kept to a minimum, as well, to preserve the delicate aromatics and beautiful textures of Pinot. These are details that few producers will trouble with, even in expensive Burgundy, but are routine at Boisset.

Burgundy is the home of Pinot Noir and the Côte d'Or is its most exalted district. Home to all of the Grand Cru vineyards, it holds the villages of Vosne-Romanee, Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin as the pinnacle of Pinot—with costs to match. Jean-Claude Boisset's Les Ursulines offers a trip into that world with classical Côte de Nuits flavors—but without the price-tags associated with its peers.