Wine Advocate (90)

Exhibiting aromas of rich dark berries, orange zest and spices, the 2022 Volnay Village is medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with succulent acids and a long, attractively perfumed finish.

Nestled in the heart of Burgundy, the Pierrick Bouley Volnay Les Pluchots 2019 is a rare gem for wine enthusiasts. Artisan-produced by fifth-generation winemaker Pierrick Bouley in the Volnay region, the wine benefits from the rich clay and limestone soils of the Les Pluchots vineyard. The wine exudes a beautiful harmony between elegance and power.

The 2019 vintage, aged in French oak barrels for 18 months, carries distinct nuances of ripe red fruits and floral notes. Subtle hints of spice from the oak maturation also unfold on the palate. The Pierrick Bouley Volnay Les Pluchots 2019 stands as a testament to the producer’s commitment to natural winemaking, with its handpicked grapes, native yeast fermentation, and minimal sulphur in the vineyard.

An exceptional expression of the Burgundian terroir, the Pierrick Bouley Volnay Les Pluchots 2019 truly deserves a place in the cellar of serious Pinot Noir collectors.

Wine Advocate (90)

The 2021 Volnay Les Pluchots exhibits aromas of sweet berries, cherries and burning embers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy palate. It's a success.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (92-95)

4 barrels made, about one third below the normal. Deep black purple, a rich sensuality to the nose, very promising. There is a solid core of rich dense cherry, with a firmer more tannic background, but in balance with the density of the fruit. Definitely a wine to put away for rather longer (10+ years) Worth waiting for. Tasted: November 2021

Vinous (93)

From the 32-year-old vines, the 2019 Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru has the most backward and recalcitrant nose of Bouley’s Volnays, though well defined and focused. The palate is grippy on the entry with superb precision. It reminds me of Lafarge albeit with darker fruit towards the finish. Excellent.

Jeb Dunnuck (98+)

The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is rich in aromatics of black raspberry, menthol, sage, and lavender. It is fruit forward upfront, with pure cherry fruit, balsamic, and black tea with classically structured tannins and acidity that lifts off the palate and a long finish. It was aged for 6 months in tonneaux followed by two years in large barrels. Cellar 2-4 years and enjoy 2024-2036.

Halliday Wine Companion (98)

Named after the family matriarch. Selection of the best parcels of fruit from the Polish Hill River estate. pH 2.93, TA 8.23 g/L, RS 3.1 g/L. Pikes' flagship, but also a Clare Valley flagship. It's not often a 6-month-old riesling can be described as luscious, but that's the impact of this wine. It's citrus focused, of course, and it also has keynote acidity, but it's the honeyed mouthfeel and flavour that hits the jackpot.

Vinous (96+)

Deep, bright ruby. Extraordinarily complex, lively nose combines black raspberry, bitter chocolate, nutmeg and an intriguing suggestion of roasted herbs. Amazingly rich and smooth in the mouth; truly explosive fruit offers superb vinosity and snap. Like liquid velvet but with great clarity of flavor. Builds in intensity and seems to grow thicker on the back half. The huge finishing fruit coats the entire palate. Amazing juice.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2006 Pingus is a spectacular effort. A glass-staining saturated opaque purple, it delivers an other-worldly perfume of smoke, lavender, mineral, scorched earth, and an amalgam of kinky black fruits. Voluptuous on the palate in a measured way, it has superb balance, layered, complex flavors, ripe tannin that is entirely covered by the fruit, and a decade of aging potential. This monumental wine will evolve effortlessly for 10-15 years and offer a drinking window extending from 2016 to 2036.

Decanter (99)

I tried this wine first at the time of release and it shocked me. Classic Pingus, oaky and muscular, was transformed into a jewel of infinite delicacy, with a pure and precise fruit expression, fine-grained tannins (not a hint of oak tannins), joyously open on the finish. Ten years later, the wine has gained in complexity, while keeping a youthful profile and extending its already persistent finish. I am sure that it will continue to reach new heights, but I couldn't be able to refrain from drinking it now if I could. The satin of Burgundy and the fine detailing of Bordeaux, all in one wine.

Wine Advocate (95)

As with all the 2011s, the 2011 Pingus is riper, with never-seen-before alcohol levels (15.5%), but the wine feels extremely balanced. As usual, the highly-selected grapes were fermented in 2,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and aged for 22 months in second-and third-fill barrels. It is ripe and exuberant, with notes of violets, spices (curry!), smoky peat and umami-like meat-broth aromas. The palate is full-bodied, glyceric with sophisticated tannins, but plenty of them, so they need to calm down a little. I believe there will be a lot of people who will really love this 2011, it's showy and exuberant. 6,000 bottles produced. Drink 2016-2020.

Wine Advocate (95)

As with all the 2011s, the 2011 Pingus is riper, with never-seen-before alcohol levels (15.5%), but the wine feels extremely balanced. As usual, the highly-selected grapes were fermented in 2,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and aged for 22 months in second-and third-fill barrels. It is ripe and exuberant, with notes of violets, spices (curry!), smoky peat and umami-like meat-broth aromas. The palate is full-bodied, glyceric with sophisticated tannins, but plenty of them, so they need to calm down a little. I believe there will be a lot of people who will really love this 2011, it's showy and exuberant. 6,000 bottles produced. Drink 2016-2020.

Wine Advocate (96)

I tasted the 2013 Pingus one week before the wine was to be bottled, but one never knows. I tasted the 2012 under the same circumstances last year, and after my tasting, Peter Sisseck decided the wine needed some more time, so the élevage was extended and the bottling delayed. I was told this should be very close to the bottled version. The nose is aromatic, expressive and open, quite perfumed and subtle, with no traces of oak (the wine now ages in used barriques); even the spices are very much in the background. The Pingus vineyards behaved quite well in a difficult vintage, as great vineyards are a lot more homogeneous, so the vines are very balanced: the two vineyards used for Pingus, San Cristobal and Barroso, were planted in 1929 with two different massale selections. The palate is also approachable and gentle, with very good acidity and very fine tannins, elegance and character. I think there will be very few (or none!) wines in Ribera in 2013 like this Pingus. Well done! Three weeks later, I received an email letting me know that the wine had been bottled, so I proceeded to taste the bottle version, which showed what the sample promised. 2013 will be a vintage, that in Ribera del Duero, will show the differences of the work in the vineyards and what they do at Pingus clearly paid off. Even after the recent operation, the wine is harmonious and feels very balanced; there is no dizziness and it keeps the poise. A real triumph for the vintage. 6,600 bottles were filled at the end of July 2015.

Wine Advocate (100)

I don't think I've ever tasted a wine more recently bottled than the 2014 Pingus, which was bottled in the morning and I tasted it that very same evening! Peter Sisseck compares this to the 1995, the first vintage ever produced, when he learned that when you have such perfect grapes, you should do very little to the wine. He's been trying to replicate that first vintage, but there's nothing you can do to force it, as it has to be the natural conditions of the vintage that bring those grapes. What he also learned with the 1995 was that with wines like that, you need a long and slow aging in oak; so for the 2014, he decided to do a little longer élevage—three winters in barrel—but in 100% used barrels, something he started in 2012. If it would have been new oak, as in the past, it would have been impossible to have such extended aging without marking the wine too much and possibly forever. The wine was quite tannic to start with, but it was racked every six months, and in that way they have managed to tame those tannins without getting the wine tired, as the aging itself was quite reductive. The nose is quite harmonious and open, but maybe not very expressive, a normal thing considering the extremely short bottle age it had (hours!), but it should gain precision in bottle. In instances like this, you have to guide yourself by the palate. And it's precisely on the palate where you find that texture that is almost unique to Ribera del Duero when it's as perfect as this. It's very different from other zones, a velvety mouthfeel and a surrounding sensation of comfort, incredibly long. The tannins are ultra fine and with that subtle chalkiness of the limestone soils, which also added to the tastiness and the supple aftertaste. In short, I cannot think of a way of improving this Pingus other, than getting a magnum instead of a regular bottle! Congratulations, Peter Sisseck! 4,800 bottles were filled on January 16th of 2017, a slightly shorter production than the average, because part of the vines were hit by hail and didn't make it into the final blend. Now stay tuned for 2015 and 2016.