Jean-Marc and Thomas Bouley: an example of peasant common sense

With Thomas Bouley Once the cordial exchanges of welcome were over, our meeting immediately began with a tour of the vineyard bordering the domaine The idea was to exchange ideas on pruning, to scatter a handful of soil to illustrate well-aerated, living, and uncompacted soil, and to talk more broadly about agronomy, Thomas's top priority since 2002, the year he truly took charge of the... domaine family.

Thomas, 4th generation, succeeded Jean-Marc, his father, who arrived in 1974. "He invested his entire career in buildings and vineyards, to reach a surface area of seventeen hectares, then twelve in 2001 and seven when I took over in 2002 following the loss of five hectares under lease. Thanks to him, I inherited a fine heritage of vines and facilities in Volnay, where I was able to build the 100% stainless steel cuverie in 2016. This allows me to have everything in the same place and to work with enormous comfort," explains Thomas. Jean-Marc was already producing fine wines, with particular attention paid to controlling yields, taking care with his vinifications and his two-winter long maturations. "I don't rack any more, but I keep this logic of long ageing. It may seem paradoxical, but in softer vintages like 2021 or 2023, the second winter on the lees really fills out the wines, and conversely, in very concentrated, very ripe vintages like 2022, they become more refined". Thomas set up in business in 2002, but his father's health problems meant he was thrown into the deep end with the 2000 vintage. "My father had paralyzing sciatica. He was lying down, so I had no choice. I was 18. I made mistakes, that's how you learn, but I knew what I wanted and it was a good experience. Even though I made wine in 2000, I consider 2002 to be my first real vintage, as I was able to control everything in the vineyard by increasing the height of the pruning, completely stopping the use of chemical weedkillers, anti-rot treatments...".