Volnays

7 August 2015:

Totally by accident, with just the theme of Volnay being circulated, our small group each brought a Premier Cru bottle from the south of Volnay village, adjacent to Meursault, including Clos des Chênes, Champans and just across the border in Meursault, Les Santenots. Champans and Santenots were already valued as the finest vineyards by successive historians, including Rodier and Lavalle, but Clos des Chênes wasn't recognised for its outstanding quality until much later. Champans (11.2 ha) is typically stony, with marly limestone offering good drainage, over hard Oxfordian limestone. Clos des Chenes (15.4 ha) has two parts, one part (and generally regarded as the better part) above the road D973, with reddish iron-packed soil, well-drained, the other part is higher up, cooler, steeper, with more white limestone marl. Les Santenots, across the border in Meursault, has more clay in the soil, contributing to fleshy body, richer texture and more robust structure, and in the best hands, they share the same velvety quality of tannins as the rest of Volnay. Les Santenots-du-Milieu is the heartland plot, about 8.8 ha within the larger 29 ha of Santenots. Lafon has 3.8 ha of the 8.8 ha.

Source: www.bourgogne-wines.com

My brief tasting notes as follows:

1999 Volnay Champans, Marquis d'Angerville: There was a distinct metallic whiff and taste. Though there was a good level of acidity, the mid-palate tasted ungenerous, lacking in fruit quality or richness of texture, with an astringent finish.


2002 Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu, Comtes Lafon: this was my wine of the evening. Beautiful aromatics of cherry stone, redcurrant, cardamon, suggesting purety and ripeness. The intense flavours, balancing acidity and velvety tannins coated the palate, lingering for a very long time, leaving a sense of seamless harmony and perfection. This was utterly more-ish. I could have been drinking this all night! A very long life ahead.


1998 Volnay Clos des Chênes, Michel Lafarge: sadly cork taint got the better of this bottle


2002 Volnay Clos des Chênes, Michel Lafarge: earthy, sage, cherry aromas dominated, a slow burner, gradually developing more depth and character as it evolved in the glass, while the vibrant acidity keeping up the freshness. A classic Volnay for both nose and palate. A long life ahead.


1969 Volnay Clos des Chênes, Remoissenet: this was a really pleasant surprise, how well it was holding up. Totally tertiary, but gracefully held together. Finished long.


1966 Volnay Clos des Chênes, Potinet-Ampeau: Sadly this was corked too. What are the chances of getting 2 bottles out of 6 with cork taint??!!


Not quite sure what I concluded from this tasting, but these are certainly very elegant wines, with distinct aromatics, a silky and suave texture and delicate structure that's so different from the Côte de Nuits wines......these are wines that make you reflect...... for me, they are quintessentially Bourgogne.

It would be quite fun to do a tasting of the wines from the Village, the centre of Volnay, and then from the vineyards closer to Pommard, to complete our education on Volnay!

1961 Lafite: perfect with roast chicken on a Monday evening

17 August 2015: Monday, mid August. A simple supper at home with roast chicken......and a bottle of 1961 Lafite Rothschild, to share with a dear friend, in advance of his birthday celebrations later this month! An excellent birth year - this bottle delivered classic and elegant claret qualities, with tertiary character of cigar box and leather, but lacking the body, generous fruit and texture and power of more illustrious 1961s, notably Latour. Despite the variations associated with this wine, this bottle came from very good stock and the level was into neck. In any case, drinking now and soon is recommended!

DuMol Estate Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

1 August 2015: Bright ruby. Intense aromatics, characterised by bright and ripe fruit, with nuances of black cherry, violet, sage, hint of sous-bois. Silky fine-grained tannin and vibrant acidity giving the wine a balanced structure, against the substantial richness of bright fruit. Slightly warming alcohol at finish (14.3% abv). Finishes long. Drinking very well now and over the next 5 - 6 years.


Michael Verlander and Kerry Murphy started DuMol in 1996, driven by a keen passion for Burgundy wines. Since 2000, they had been joined by winemaker and viticulturist Andy Smith who also became Partner of the business in 2005. Smith came with a strong CV, with prior experience under Neil McCallum (Dry River, Martinborough), Ted Lemon (Littorai) and Paul Hobbs. This bottle we tried was an Estate Vineyard bottling, from vines in the Green Valley appellation. Russian River Valley is endowed with substantial daytime warmth (Region III according to UC Davis Degree-Days scale), but is sufficiently moderated by cool nights and morning fogs to ensure slow ripening, an aspect extremely beneficial for Pinot.


2011 would be the fifth vintage of this estate bottling. Pinot clones Calera, Swan, Pommard, 667 and 777 have been planted in the estate vineyard. Burgundian stylistically. Natural yeast and natural MLF. Aged 14 months in approximately 50% new French oak barrels, before bottling unfiltered.