Grand Cru Selections

Domaine Genot-Boulanger (new)

domaine Genot-Boulanger

Meursault, Côtes de Beaune, France

 

Guillaume Lavollée

 
 

Guillaume and Aude Lavollée represent the fourth generation of vignerons at Génot-Boulanger. Their wines are produced exclusively from estate-owned vineyards, located along all three Burgundy côtes, from Chambolle Musigny, down to the domaine in Meursault, and on to Mercurey. With 22 hectares, Génot-Boulanger is one of only a few family-owned Burgundian domaines to produce such a diverse range. (They produce wine from over 30 appellations!)
Since 2008, Guillaume and Aude have worked painstakingly to improve the quality of their wines, converting to organic farming practices and experimenting with biodynamics. The domaine’s philosophy is “maximum work in the vineyards for minimum intervention in the cuverie.” This has translated to wines that are first and foremost true to their terroir.

  • The history of the estate begins with the realization of a dream, back in 1974, when Charles-Henri Génot and his wife, Marie née Boulanger moved to Meursault. They acquired their first vineyards in Mercurey and created the Domaine. Charles-Henri never tired in his search for additional terroir, obtaining parcels in Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet, Volley, Pommard and Beaune. Their son, Francois, inherited a total of 22 hectares of vineyards across 30 appellations in 1998 and continued the family endeavor for ten years until his daughter, Aude, and son-in-law, Guillaume Lavollée joined him.

    Since 2008, Guillaume and Aude have worked painstakingly to improve the quality of their wines, converting to organic farming practices and experimenting with biodynamics.

  • This domaine’s wealth lies in its diversity, the undeniable fortune of having holdings from the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. Their notable vineyards include the Meursault Villages “Clos du Cronin” as well as Premier Crus “La Garenne” and “Les Folatières” in Puligny-Montrachet.

  • Since the new generation came on board, there is even more attention to the vineyards. They chose to do horse- drawn plowing in the smaller parcels and apply composts and plant-based herbal remedies to promote the soils and the plants’ equilibrium. Pruning, budding and trellising is evaluated vineyard by vineyard to stimulate the maturity and health of the grapes. The domaine is working towards organic conversion and can attest to the positive changes already taking place in the soils.

  • In the cellar, Aude and Guillaume believe that the winemaker’s intervention should be as discrete as possibile. Balanced wines, accessible in their youth but capable of revealing another dimension after 4 to 5 years of aging, are always the ambition. They employ various coopers and the choice of barrels is guided by each wine’s capacity to digest the wood, taking into consideration both the plots and the vintage. They add one new barrel per year for both red and white wines, attentive to overall integration and impact.

    No matter the appellation, Domaine Genot-Boulanger’s whites seek balance between power and freshness, roundness and tension, and are put directly in barrel for fermentation (with indigenous yeasts) and élevage. There is no stirring of the lees. After 12 months of aging, the whites are racked and transferred to tanks for an additional 6 months of aging.

    Reds are de-stemmed or left whole cluster, depending on the harvest. During the 3-4 weeks of barrel fermentation using indigenous yeasts, they intervene as little as possible. Gentle extraction is prioritized by adjusting the number of punch downs and pump overs according to the cuvée and vintage. Their Pinot Noirs are then aged 12 months in oak barrels followed by 6 months in tank.

Wines

Bourgogne Rouge

A single plot in the plain of Pommard from a lieu-dit called Les Noeuds. The vines are 60 years old and very low yielding never giving more than 20 hectolitres/hectare. The soil is red to brown clay mixed with small pieces of limestone. The limestone helps to keep the soil from being too wet which is a common issue on the plains.

Pommard Vieilles Vignes

The Pommard Vieilles Vignes comes from three parcels in Pommard: Les Cras, Les Vignots, and La Chanière. Les Cras is at the bottom of the slope. The word “Cras” comes from “coteau pierreux” or “stony hillside.” It is often used to refer to vines that are down the slope, where the is its most rocky. Les Vignots and La Chanière are located on the slope just above the village of Pommard in more clay based calcareous soils. In total, the three parcels are 2.22 hectares.

Pommard 1er Cru Clos Blanc

Pommard 1er Cru "Clos Blanc" is located along the Route des Grands Crus road just next to the entrance to the village of Pommard and is contiguous to Les Grands Epenots. It is named “Clos Blanc” because of the large concentration of limestone and clay, so much so that the soil appears white. Following the phylloxera crisis, this parcel was the first of the village to be replanted. Their parcel was planted in 1966 and is 0.33 hectare.

Chambolle Musigny

From two parcels in the village of Chambolle-Musigny - Les Nazoires and Les Mombies. They are both on the Vougeot side, located below the village, on the bottom of the slope. In total, both parcels are 0.76 hectare.

Beaune 1er Cru Les Greves

Perfectly located on the heart of the midslope of Beaune. The lieu dit's name is a reference to the gravely soil and possibly also derived from the word “graves” (serious) for the intensity of the rocks found in the soil. Their parcel was planted in parts during the 1960s and 1980. It is 1.04 hectare in size and is located mid-slope where the grade is the steepest.

Volnay 1er Cru Ronceret

The name "Ronceret" refers, in old French, to a bush of brambles. This plot is located on a place where thorny plants and brambles once grew, hence its name. Planted entirely with Pinot Noir in 1958, it covers 0.40 hectares and is located at the bottom of the hillside under "Champans". The soil is deep and gravelly with Bathonian limestones which are stony, ferruginous, and reddish.

Volnay Vieilles Vignes

From four plots in Volnay, bordering each other, located at the bottom of the hillside, to the south-east of the village, totaling 1.28 hectares of vines. The plots “les Aussy” and “Cros Martin” were planted in the 1980s and “les Echards” and “les Jouères” in the 1950s. Located just below 1er Volnay “Les Roncerets”. The land benefits from a slight slope, on limestone bedrock covered by water-retaining clays. The soil is made up of silt superimposed on ancient alluvium.

Mercurey 1er Cru Sazenay

Mercurey is one of the most important appellations in the Côte Chalonnaise. Genot-Boulanger's parcel of Mercurey 1er Cru Sazenay was planted in 2000 and 2015. The plot is 1.81 hectare and is well situated on the slope with a full eastern exposure.

Mercurey 1er Cru Les Saumonts

Abutting Les Puillets but exposed a little more to the south. There is white marl topsoil on a very steep slope below the hilltop (sous mont), and the bowl shape of the vineyard allows for ideal ripening, though the eastern part is hidden by the hill from the morning sun.

Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Clos du Chapitre

The 0.97 hectare vineyard is located at the bottom of the slope, in the heart of the village, and is south facing. On average the vines are over fifty years old. The soil is reddish brown with lots of silex and limestone.

Corton Grand Cru Les Combes

Génot Boulanger is the only domine to bottle the climat Les Combes, it is the main source in Tollot Beaut’s Corton. The vineyard sits towards the bottom of the slope and exposed to the south-southwest.

Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

The 0.43 hectare parcel in the lieu dit “Les Boudes Basses” was planted in 1986. The vineyard grows in shallow brown soil with a calcareous and clay based sub-soil.

Beaune Blanc Lulunne

During the Gallo-Roman era, there was a spring on this land with a small village built around it - called Lulunne that still exists today. The plot is located at the bottom of the valley and separates the Pommard mountain from that of Saint-Désiré, Finage de Beaune. This wine comes from a 0.24 hectare Chardonnay parcel planted in 1986 located at the top of the hill and faces south, just above Clos des Mouches planted on clay-limestone and loamy soil.

Savigny les Beaune Blanc Vielles Vignes

The wine comes from three plots in Savigny, one on the lower hills (Les Saucours), the other on the middle of the hillside (Les Gollardes) and the last at the top of the hillside (Les Goudelettes). The three plots total 0.56 Hectares

Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru Les Vergelesses Blanc

This parcel is 0.21 hectare and was planted in 1991. The poor and shallow soils are white marl and limestone based as well as rich in silt and sand.

Meursault Clos du Cromin

Clos du Cromin is located on the bordering hillside to Volnay and historically, it was planted in Pinot Noir, not Chardonnay. For many years it was the only parcel of Meursault the domaine owned. As a result, it became synonymous with the estate and for the last 25 years has been its most visible wine.The parcel is 1.42 hectares and located at the bottom of the slope where the soil is rich in clay.

Meursault Les Vireuils

Located on the eastern slope of the hill, just behind the village. Its exposure and its location at the top-of-the-hill contributes to it being perfect for wines that express finesse over power. Their parcel was planted in 1957 and is 0.23 hectare in size within the lieu-dit Vireuils Dessous. The soil is of white marl and limestone.

Meursault Meix Chavaux

Located west of the village of Meursault at mid-slope. The vineyard forms one of the borders of Meursault and is just next to the small river, the Ruisseau des Cloux. Their 0.50 hectare parcel was planted in 1970 and due to its north-eastern exposure retains a lot of freshness. The soils are shallow and very stony so they drain well. Also, thanks to the Combe of Auxey-Duresses that is contiguous to the plot, there is a cooling effect that helps maintain more consistently cool temperatures.

Meursault 1er Cru Boucheres

The word "bouchot" in old Burgundian dialect means "bush" or "small wooded area.” At the time, how wooded the area was characterized the area. Meursault 1er Cru Boucheres is in one of the most barren areas of Meursault. There is so little top soil and so rocky that only a few bushes grow there, hence its name. Their 0.61 plot of Chardonnay planted in the 1990s and is located south-west of the village. The terroir is characterized by its steep slope and shallow calcareous soils where the bedrock is practically near the surface.

Puligny Montrachet Les Levrons

Located north of Puligny AOC, very close to the village, bottom of the slopes. A parcel of 0.35ha with south-east exposition, planted in 1988 on deep brown limestone with a thicker clay presence down the slope. The top of the slope is more stony with better drainage.

Puligny Montrachet "Les Nosroyes"

"Les Nosroyes" is French for walnuts. Walnut trees thrive in limestone soils and are sensitive to moisture, just like vines. The plot is 1.13 hectare in the middle of the slope, just north of the village. Nosroyes is just under the Puligny-Montrachet premier cru "Les Perrières."

Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne

“La Garenne” comes from the medieval Latin word "Warenna", a term for a section of the woods surrounded by walls or hedges that is reserved for nobility as a hunting area of small game (most often rabbit - hence the expression "rabbit de garenne"). The 0.37 hectare parcel was planted in 1991 and is located at the top of the slope just before the tree line. The bedrock is pure limestone and the top soil is very fine earth mixed with different types of calcareous stones. They turn up fossilized shells while plowing on the regular.

Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Folatieres

Their 0.35 hectare parcel was planted in the 1970s on a hillside of limestone and marly soils and with an ideal southeastern exposure. The family attributes the harmonious balance of the wine to the geological balance of limestone and clay in the soil.

Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes

From a plot located in the immediate vicinity of the famous Montrachet. "Chenevottes" in old French means 'hemp'—fields where hemp was cultivated. Our 0.25-hectare Chardonnay plot, planted in 1930, is situated mid-slope, to the north of Chassagne, with an east-facing exposure. The vines are on relatively flat, well-drained land with a limestone and stony soil that is particularly suited to producing fleshy and mineral white wines.

Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Les Vergers

From a 0.7 hectare plot, planted in 2004. The parcel is located north of the village and is east facing. The soil is predominantly limestone but varies between more a higher concentration of marl or sand in certain spots.

Corton Charlemagne

Their 0.29 hectare parcel of Chardonnay was planted in 1940 in "Le Charlemagne", and has a south-west exposure. The parcel has a perfect geological cross section: the Oxfordian Jurassic layers of bedrock are younger than in the rest of the Côte.