Jean-Marc Boillot was one of the younger generation in Burgundy who was determined to improve his family’s wines. In 1984, after vinifying 13 vintages at the family’s domaine, Henri Boillot, Jean-Marc walked out in protest, intent on producing highly concentrated, rich, and ripe wines. He became the winemaker for Olivier Leflaive for the next four years and at the same time produced wines from 5-acres of vineyards, bottled under his own label. The wines impressed Boillot’s grandfather, who bequest half his vineyard to Jean-Marc. Boillot runs his domaine from his grandfather Henri Boillot’s house and cellars in the village of Pommard. Jean-Marc’s maternal grandfather was the late Etienne Sauzet, from whom he also inherited exceptional vineyards. The 2017 Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens is quite serious and reserved, both in the context of Boillot's range and in the context of the vintage. Offering up aromas of plums, cassis, warm spices and toasty new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, dense and firm, with good concentration, fine-grained but chewy structuring tannins and a long finish