2022 Bitouzet Prieur Volnay 1er Taillepieds & Caillerets (Copy)
I’ve been evangelizing about Bitouzet Prieur for several vintages after meeting with Francois Bitouzet and tasting through his lineup at their brand new, state of the art facility in Meursault. It was truly amazing!
This is the textbook example of a new generation taking the reins of the best vineyards, which had previously only been making average wine and dramatically changing the philosophy. In Francois' case, the changes had mostly to do with farming techniques, oh, and that massive new winery. Voilà, within a couple of years, he starts turning out some incredible reference point wines. This is said slightly tongue in cheek. Frankly, the effort and turn around is commendable and has not been overnight. Still, the time it has actually taken makes the wine no less magical!
If you haven’t checked in with Bitouzet Prieur recently, this is a vintage which you should take a serious look. The wines have never been better! I’ve made several offers over the past few months of mostly white wines, but after getting a chance to taste the Volnay Clos Chenes from bottle, I think it might be a better vintage for his red wines.
Today's offer includes two new wines: Volnay 1er Taillepieds & Volnay 1er Caillerets. Anyone familiar with Volnay will recognize these vineyards as some of the appellations finest terroirs. These are wines to own!
Francios is really starting to see the fruits of his labors. These are serious wines and come with my very highest recommendation.
— STORY —
It's been fun watching the next generation in Burgundy take over for their parents, standing on their shoulders, building on their knowledge. In the case of Bitouzet, it’s gone from a very good domaine… to a great one. Francois Bitouzet took control from his parents Vincent Bitouzet (Volnay) and Ann Prieur (Meursault) around 2010. His parent’s marriage had combined two important families into one formidable domaine, with 12 hectares of vines in some of Volnay and Meursaults most important 1er crus. Historically, they always made nice wines but rarely, if ever, did they produce anything truly compelling.
THAT has all changed!
One of the first changes Francois implemented was in the vineyards with the conversion to organic farming in 2013, although with no certification. His biggest undertaking is no doubt the incredible winery; a facility he created in the industrial portion of Meursault. Imagine having a blank check and creating your absolute dream winery, equipped with every imaginable piece of winemaking equipment, offices, reception areas etc...
The WOW factor is truly amazing!
The wines first caught my attention with the 2017 vintage. At that point, Francois had been farming organically for 5 years. With winemaking, obviously, it's not like you flip the switch on a new assembly line and the next vintage is incredible, even if you own all the best vineyards. It's a process. It's a small change here and a tweak there and then you look up 5 years later and viola, the fruits of your labor begin to show (pun intended).
About the time I started sitting up and paying attention, Francois broke ground on the new wine-making facility. If my memory serves, 2019 was the first vintage that he was able to vinify in the new facility. This is where the wines really took another giant leap forward. He was now able to vinify in a way that he was now able to control the temperatures, vinify separately, move the wines when they were ready and not because he needed the space for something else. It's this precision that has really defined what is happening today.