Volnay premier cru 2010: panel tasting results

Volnay premier cru 2010

Entry criteria:

Producers and UK agents were invited to submit any 2010 premier cru Volnay

The results

‘Elegance and finesse, refinement and perfume.’ So quintessential Volnay was described by Michael Schuster at the outset of the post-tasting discussion. Did our panel find that in this line-up of premiers crus from the 2010 vintage? To an extent, yes.

‘I think this is certainly a vintage to buy,’ said Sebastian Thomas. ‘It’s very much a Burgundy lover’s vintage – not a ripe year, but a precise year where terroir should shine through. As ever with Burgundy, the choice of producer is key.’‘This isn’t a grand vintage,’ agreed Schuster, ‘but it has a lovely purity. It was a difficult, cool vintage, saved by a warm September, and as a result is more austere than either 2005 or 2007. It’s a sort of super-2008, lean in style with crisp red fruit, marked acidity and fine tannins.’

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores

Steven Spurrier found many nice wines but was less impressed overall than he expected to be. ‘I knew that 2010 was slightly underripe as a vintage, but there is so much good wine being made in Burgundy today that I came expecting clarity and precision of fruit – Volnay is one of the best appellations in Burgundy for that. What I found was a very varied and fascinating range.Some were medium in colour, others were dark; some were dominated by oak, others had well-integrated oak; some had red fruits, others black. In general, these are really nice, good quality wines that aren’t going to let people down and will age very nicely over the next seven to eight years.’

On the subject of ageing potential, Schuster expressed surprise that the colour of some wines was fairly advanced.

‘But the good wines clearly need time,’ he added. ‘One always thinks of Burgundy as ageing more slowly than claret, but good Burgundy needs just as much time, and lasts at least as long.’ Thomas agreed that colour could be deceptive: ‘Colour isn’t always an indication of ageing potential. I think we’ll be surprised by this vintage, and that some of these wines will go on and on. You could draw comparisons with 1993, another high-acidity vintage; the best wines from that year are still youthful.’

When the discussion moved to communes, Santenots was clearly a favourite. ‘I love the richness of Santenots,’ enthused Spurrier, who highlighted it as one of his top two communes of the tasting. ‘The vineyard is in neighbouring Meursault and so the wines have flesh, warmth, fruit and an exoticism to them. You find that still in 2010, absolutely.’

The Santenots soil is very different to the soil in Meursault though, pointed out Schuster, with less limestone and more red soil, making for a wine that is ‘richer, darker and more generous’ than many others in Volnay. That came across clearly, he added. ‘Richer doesn’t necessarily mean finer, but these were very good.’

Caillerets – sometimes referred to as ‘the Margaux of Volnay’, and Spurrier’s other star commune of the tasting – also performed well, unsurprisingly: Caillerets, Santenots and Clos des Chênes are widely recognised by Burgundy experts as the best premiers crus in Volnay (Volnay has no grands crus).

Given that these wines are all in the top tier of the appellation, Schuster said: ‘At this level, you should find premier cru complexity, scope and quality, whatever the style. Most of these wines showed that, but some tasted very much at the bottom end of premier cru.’

As ever with Burgundy, the panel advised to buy with caution, using these pages as your guide.

The scores

65 wines tasted

2 Outstanding

11 Highly recommended

43 Recommended

7 Fair

0 Poor

2 Faulty

About Volnay 2010

Just south of Beaune, Volnay is sandwiched between Pommard and Meursault, and given the rugged character of many Pommards, it comes as a surprise that Volnay is regarded, alongside Chambolle-Musigny to the north, as the embodiment of Burgundian finesse.

The best wines don’t lack structure and ageing potential – far from it – but a Volnay, even a premier cru, can be surprisingly accessible in its youth.

As it ages, the wine should show exceptional fragrance, clarity and persistence. Volnay is richly endowed in premiers crus, which, in terms of hectares under vine, outnumber the village vineyards. Most of the highly regarded premiers crus lie on the slopes above the main road. The vineyards visible around the village are all premiers crus.

But about half the premiers lie below the road on flatter soil. Those close to Pommard, such as Frémiets and Chanlin, tend to be more tannic and even rugged. Those hugging, or even within, the village tend to be monopoles owned by the leading producers, while most of the finest premiers crus lie on the most southerly slopes towards Meursault, and include Clos des Chênes, Taillepieds and Cailleret. Champans, the most central of the premiers, is also esteemed.

As always in Burgundy, much depends on individual producers. Volnay is fortunate here. Properties such a Lafarge, Marquis d’Angerville, Pousse d’Or, de Montille, Henri Boillot and, in recent years, Nicolas Rossignol are renowned for consistency as well as quality. Inevitably they differ in approach. Lafarge farms biodynamically and promotes purity of fruit; at the other end of the spectrum, Pousse d’Or (which changed hands in 1997) delivers darker, more modern-style wines. Their monopoles are also noteworthy, although they are mostly small: Pousse d’Or alone owns three, of which the best is Clos de la Bousse d’Or; Lafarge owns Clos du Château des Ducs, Angerville the Clos des Ducs, and Clerget owns Clos de Verseuil.

Fortunately the best-known premiers crus are large sites and the wines more widely available.

Finesse not weight

Many leading négociants regularly release good Volnays. Bouchard Père et Fils and Jadot are among those that usually offer more than one premier cru.

Another top wine made by a domaine outside the commune is the superb Santenots-du-Milieu from Domaine des Comtes Lafon.

Although, with its multiplicity of vineyards and estates, Volnay is not the easiest village for consumers to master, the general standard of winemaking is high here and a truly disappointing bottle is, or should be, rare.

The 2010 vintage was fine, compensating for the lack of the richness of 2005 and 2009 with purity and finesse. It will be fascinating to compare them after another decade.

The early summer was warm, even hot at times, but damp spells led to mildew and rot, and a wet August slowed the ripening. Rigorous sorting proved essential. What remained was healthy and ripe, with greater freshness and clarity than the more opulent 2009s. There is likely to be a finer expression of individual terroirs, too.

Some winemakers prefer the classicism of 2010 to the opulence of 2009. But that was probably a minority view, and only the passage of time will see whether it is justified.

Top scoring Volnay 2010 wines from the tasting

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