Pinot Noir is the only grape variety used for the Volnay and Volnay Premier Cru.
- 10 000 feet/ha.
- Guyot pruning.
- Manual harvest.
- Yields of 40 hl/ha.
- Dark red robe.
- The nose shows flavours of red and black ripe fruits, especially red cherries with toasted hints of coffee and spices.
- In the mouth, the full attack shows a velvet structure, rich, well balanced, spicy, fruity (blackcurrant, blueberries, black cherries), generous, candied fruits and spices, silky tannin, complex, very nice and refined structure.
Drink with a warm Mont d’Or cheese and Morteau sausage, feathered game, steak tartare, guinea fowl with a turnip bake, pan-fried Brussels sprouts with bacon or a tender piece of Tome cheese from Savoie.
Serve ideally at room temperature, around 15-16°C. (59-61°F.).
This wine can be drunk now, but can also be kept in the cellar for 6 to 8 years.
The village of Volnay is located in the Côte de Beaune, in Burugndy, South of the town of Beaune and neighbouring the village of Pommard. This appellation is part of the rare ones that only produces red wines.
Volnay, perched on the hill of Chaignot high up in the Côte de Beaune, occupies a narrow and steeply sloping site as if to allow more space to the vines. The hill itself is oriented slightly differently from the general run of the country so that the vines face South-East rather than East.
These vineyards have been valued and exploited for centuries. Long before the Revolution the harvests of Volnay went to the Knights of Malta, the Abbeys of Saint-Andoche d’Autun and Maizières, or to the Dukes of Bourgogne and their successors, the Kings of France. The typicity of this red Pinot Noir wine was fixed as early as the 18th century. It gained its controlled appellation status in 1937. The appellation Volnay is twinned with Volnay-Santenots, grown in neighbouring Meursault on ground equally suited to the Pinot Noir grape.
Meaning of the climate Robardelle: this area is not far from the ancient Roman road and quarries. The configuration of the places allowed the brigands of great way (robardel) to run and hide easily.
- Soils made of marl, chalk and fallen rocks.
- Exposure : East, South-East.
- Altitude : 230 m à 340 m.
Harvested by hand, the harvest is sorted at the vineyard and upon arrival at the cellars. The grapes are destemmed, crushed and then placed in thermo-regulated vats.
The vinification begins with a cold maceration (8°-10°C) for a few days then the alcoholic fermentation takes over. Selected Burgundy yeasts and daily punching down and pumping over are practiced to promote the extraction of colour material and tannins. The unpacking makes it possible to obtain a drop juice and a press juice that we assemble.
The new wine is then placed under the wood for 12 to 15 months. Maturing in oak barrels with a proportion of 30% new barrels, French oak.
This 2022 vintage promises to be one of great quality.
We had a rather rainy November, December and January, and February and March were rather cool, which slowed down the emergence of the buds and in turn prevented the frost problems that we had last year.
May was very, very hot providing great flowering conditions. June was then a little chaotic weather wise, as we had some warm mornings and then with violent storms after midday, sometimes with hail. However, at least nothing really bad in our Burgundy.
The harvests started in Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits around 29 August, which is still relatively early and we had to deal with diverse levels of ripening. Some parcels really stood up to the heat and have given wonderfully ripe grapes. Of course, everything was conditioned by how the vineyard was managed and the amount of exposure. But overall, we had wonderful wines from these parcels, from other parcels which experienced more dehydration. The very high temperatures meant a greater halt in ripening, giving grapes a little less ripe, so we had to wait to harvest them.
By the end of August, we already had fabulous colour extraction and the acidity was very well balanced. All this allowed to be very confident, heading for a great vintage.
In the Chablis area, some winegrowers started harvesting as August was ending, but most of them started harvesting in the first days of September.
The harvesters were relatively unaffected by the rains, which fell either in the late afternoon or at night. The foliage, which was still in good health, benefited from it. Thanks to the rain, juice concentration was limited and the bunches of grapes were able to provide a good balance between sugar content and acidity.
The harvest concluded the third week of September with a smile: neither the frost nor the drought prevented the vineyards from producing close to normal yields. However, the volumes harvested varied from one domain to another, with some estates easily reaching full production while others were below the appellation's yield.
Wines in the making are expressing notes of ripe fruit, pear and peach, while keeping their freshness. They are generous and have a good balance. Quality is definitely there as well.
After a year 2021 disturbed by a poor harvest, this 2022 vintage is a real breath of fresh air.
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