At the recommendation of several wine worthies on this forum, I’ve been dipping a toe in Volnay lately.
2010 Domaine Bernard & Thierry Glantenay Volnay 1er Cru Santenots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (7/7/2023)
This is a glass of contrasts, never boring. Initially, smells older than it is, with some of that nice Pinot funk to boot. Palate: Tastes younger than it is, go figure.
Pours dark, but light on its' feet. With airtime, fruit rounds out with black cherry and a bit of red raspberry bite. Grippy med tannins, and med+ acids, gunflint.
A complex and quenching glass with plenty of tannin/acid stuffing for long-haul positive evolution.
If like me, you enjoy the easy pleasures of ripe (or even sort-of-ripe) primary fruit, this may seem a little austere. But if you want complexity and nuance in the glass and glimpse of old-school wine-making, you have arrived.
(93 points)
2010 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (7/7/2023)
Gunflint-inflected tart red and black cherry, med. tannin, med. acid. My notes say "*A bit of woody*", take that as you will. This was mellower and more approachable on night two (on Coravin). Good potential to evolve positively. (92 points)
Thanks for this - really interesting. These producers are both on my “red Burgs to try” list. I have had whites (mostly Chassagne) from Bernard Moreau and they are very high quality. Volnay is IMHO the Burgundy village with the most current potential for finding (vaguely) reasonably priced wine. Sadly not for long as the top names (Lafarge, d’Angerville) are ever increasing and the up and comers (Buffet, Clerget, Javillier, and Glantenay etc.) are getting pricey or constrained.
My wife and I tasted with Thierry a few weeks ago while in Burgundy; we ran through his 2022s in barrel, and the Santenots was my favorite of the lineup. Clos de Chenes may get more attention, but the Santenots was a bit lighter on its feet without sacrificing power.
ive had the 2010 glantenay santenots maybe 4 years back before i really fell in love with volnay. i remember being very impressed. i should revisit but d’angerville and lafarge take up 95% of my volnay bottles.
I was always a bit lost trying to describe that note in the wine. I have tried a few descriptors, but never got it quite right. Gunflint is bang on. Very nice notes.
I have been buying this in the UK, after I stripped local sources dry. There is a store in eastern Long Island called Domaine Franey (the owner is the son of legendary chef Pierre Franey) where I was introduced to both Jouan and Glantenay by Peter, a salesman whom I have known for around thirty years. There are very, very few salesmen whose palates I trust. Peter is one of them.
Back to Glantenay, it is still available in the UK, and still costs south of $100. For Burgundy of that quality, it is a bit of a bargain.
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