Visiting Domain de la Folie was an awesome surprise. We were greeted by Jérôme Noël-Bouton who told us the story of the winery, led us through the excellent wines that are made in the winery and engaged in a vivid and wonderful conversation on various topics ranging from wine to politics and in-between how does it feel when the next generation takes the reins of the winery.
Ratafia is unfermented grape juice, in this case it is 2/3 Aligoté mixed with 1/3 Marc de Bourgogne. The result is a strong and very pleasing fortified wine. Marc de Bourgogne goes through 30 years of maturation in Barrels and can easily beat some good Cognacs.
Now to the excellent wines. Jerome shared with us (like other wine makers in Burgundy) that he prefers to drink his wines relatively early, they should be fresh. I agree with him when it comes to whites, but would rather give my reds a couple of years to mature (and sometimes way more than this) in order to show more complexity.
2020 Clos du Chaigne - This has excellent aromas of honeysuckle, peaches and a flowery scent. It is well balanced and a wine that indeed can be enjoyed now.
2020 Clos at Jacques - The aromas here are more complex with Apricots, minerals and honeysuckle, it has phenomenal balance with very nice acidity. This is a keeper! A wine that is comparable to "bigger" names and one that can be kept in the cellar for several years.2020 Rully Cuvee Marey Clos de Bellecroix - We loved this wine, with aromas of cassis, strawberry and a scent of roses, which is well balanced with the oak and acidity this is great to drink now, but will continue and develop in the next couple of year. I'm keeping it for at least another 5 years before touching it.
Visit date: May 13th, 2022
