The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes produced only two barrels instead of the usual eight due to hail damage. It has an elegant bouquet, the single barrel of new oak lending it a sensual personality, deep and engaging. The palate is very smooth because due to the new wood, with grippy tannins and impressive density towards the assertive finish. It does not have the charm of the Carelles at the moment but that may develop with 5-6 years in bottle. Something has changed since I last met Thomas Bouley three years ago. What is it? The spring in his step or the firmness of his handshake? The maturity in his face? The answer does not take her eyes off me for the entire duration of my tasting on their first floor living room. The answer is fatherhood. Considering Thomas joined the club what doubtlessly feels like a very distant four months ago, he appears surprisingly un-fatigued given both the duties of newborn parents on top of newborn successive tumultuous seasons for a grower whose vines lay directly in hail’s firing line. What did Thomas do when his Vitis vinifera was cruelly machine-gunned with ice? “I cried,” he replied. “On the 30th of June, the hail came from the direction of La Rochepot, through Monthelie and then through the higher vineyards in Volnay such as Clos des Chêne, Les Cailleret and Champans and onwards up to Pommard and Beaune. We suffered a 30-40% loss. Then there was a second hailstorm on the first of August. This caused less damage, perhaps between 5-10%. At least we could look forward to next year...then 2013 happened.” His father Jean-Marc had done 48 vintages but had never witnessed anything approaching what happened in 2012. Consequently, the average yield at this domaine is just 14.5 hectoliters per hectare. At least the damage was early in the season. The fruit that was cropped seemed healthy with thick skins. Thomas likes to keep the natural CO2 to protect the maturing wine to minimize the use of sulfur as he prefers his wines to be open and “ready for business” once they are released. He plans to possibly extend the élevage in 2012 and keep them in wood for around two years depending on the cuvee. All the samples were taken directly from barrel the wines having not been racked. Just as I feel that Thomas has matured as a person, so I feel he is more assured about his wines that surely deserve a higher profile. Despite the disaster, he has managed to produce an impressive and, to use that banal word, delicious set of 2012s that come highly recommended. His policy of combining climats traditionally bottled separately was an astute move. Importer: VOS in New York and also OW Loeb (UK), Howard Ripley and Hayne, Hanson & Clark in UK.