Volnay Tasting @ Jiang Nan Chun, 19 Nov 2004

Burgundy the way it should be expounded? No doubt this hardly contains the breadth and depth of wines required to serve as an authoritative guide to the terroir of any particular appellation of Burgundy. But given any context and within the means of those who attend, this gathering is nothing short of commendable for at least these few reasons.

• Focus. Volnay was the theme and we sampled some of the best producers of the appellation. One may not subscribe to the notion of terroir, but that is not the point here. When we speak of burgundies, the sheer virtue of how each wine is named, the very foundation of winemaking in the burgundian tradition takes the terroirs of the appellation for granted. It's not discussed or debated. It's just... there. So there we have it: Volnay.
• Representation. I felt that the tasting was diverse enough to encompass the more well-known terroirs and the top-tier quality-driven producers. We sped through the climats of Champans, Clos de Chenes, Chateau des Ducs, and Santenots, tasting handiwork of d'Angerville, Lafarge, Comtes Lafon and de Montille no less, within the scope of the recentmost vintages of 1995-2002.
• Thirdly, there was an accompaniment commentary on the region of Volnay, introducing its soil types and premier cru sub-climats and hence its "typical" characteristics. Personally I did find this very important and appropriate in order to form a proper context for understanding the region.

There are several thoughts that rang in my head after this tasting.

• There are signatures of the region. It is subtle, but it's there. Unless we have conducted a study of the various regions of Cote d'Or in a fairly similar fashion, it's probably difficult to pin down what is "Volnay" after sitting through one tasting session like this. But I sensed that most attendees have a certain sense of place that is "Volnay" after this session. Perhaps not enough to tell a Volnay in a blind, but sufficient to be able to appreciate Volnay as it is if they know what it is. (And this is more important, isn't it?)
• There are signatures of the winemaker, and quite frankly I think this is even more evident than the signature of the region especially in this present day and age. At this tasting, Lafon's wines are probably most exemplary of this point. Vintage after vintage we tasted tonight carried a Lafon-ness around it. From a terroir standpoint, it's probably fair to say it was less transparent, but from a consistency of quality and style standpoint, he's probably at the top of his game. Does this tendency therefore make his wines better or less distinctive? I'd leave that to each person to conclude.
• In the hands of very talented winemakers, the vintage's influence on the resultant quality of the wines is minimal. It's there, but except through the discernment of the most experienced tasters, the differences are not very apparent. A case in point. We had the pleasure of tasting Lafon's Volnay Santenots du Milieu from 1996-99. The differences of the attributes one may expect from this set of wines supposedly to reflect the influences of the vintage characteristics were not, in my humble opinion, as significant as I had anticipated.
• There is old-school and there is new-school of burgundy winemaking. Each has its merits and each is pleasurable in its own way. Some show more voluptuousness, while others are more delicate. The notion of concentration, intensity, frame and structure were interpreted differently. Again, here the consumer decides which way do they like best (at which point in time, if I may add).
• Each vintage (at least in the context of our tasting) has its purpose and place in time. For whatever that has been said (in the press and wine community) about red burgundies of 1997 and 2000, the two wines we tasted this night of these vintages were actually delicious and pleasurable. If the primary duty of a wine is to please the drinker, then they have done well. (Note that the 1997 was slightly corked, so I believe it had deteriorated the palate somewhat too despite the smell going away after some 20 minutes in the glass.) And these were supposedly less-than-stellar vintages -- at least according to 'common wisdom' -- even unjustifiably maligned in some respects. So much for common wisdom...? The same can be said about 1998. A well-known wine critic denounced the 1998 vintage, refusing to review the wines altogether, calling it unbalanced, overtly tannic and vegetal. At this tasting (plus other 1998 we tasted recently) the 1998s were delicious, even profound. Certainly tonight, some of my favourite wines came from this vintage -- they were transparent, intense and tasty. The 1999s were by far the most concentrated of the lot -- deeply coloured, ripe, hefty yet still quite pure. At this stage they are quite tightly wound, but probably less so compared to the 1995 and 1996 samples we had. Both the latter were very linear and pure expression of the pinot fruits in my opinion. What it did not show in terms of sheer flesh it more than made up for in terms of transparency, pitch, aromatics and firm (not overwhelming) structures. Needless to say, these wines are worth waiting for.
• These burgundies are not wines for immediate gratification. Pinot noirs as expressed by this region tasted yesterday were complex yet compact at this point. They also exist for the dinner table to go with food and friends. These wines are (and will be even more so) great company. Standing on its own, nevertheless the good wines that they are, it is somewhat incomplete.

The wines tasted yesterday were:

1979 Robert Ampeau, Meursault "Perrieres", 1er Cru

2002 Jean Boillot, Volnay "Les Fremiets", 1er Cru

2000 Vincent Girardin, Volnay "Les Santenots", 1er Cru

1997 Comtes Lafon, Volnay "Santenots du Milieu", 1er Cru

1998 Michel Lafarge, Volnay "Clos du Chateau des Ducs", 1er Cru (Monopole)

1998 Comtes Lafon, Volnay "Santenots du Milieu", 1er Cru

1995 Hubert de Montille, Volnay "Champans", 1er Cru

1996 Comtes Lafon, Volnay "Santenots du Milieu", 1er Cru

1999 Michel Lafarge, Volnay "Clos des Chenes", 1er Cru

1999 Comtes Lafon, Volnay "Clos des Chenes", 1er Cru

1999 Comtes Lafon, Volnay "Santenots du Milieu", 1er Cru

1999 Marquis d'Angerville, Volnay "Champans", 1er Cru

1978 Francois Ganoux, Pommard "Les Rugiens", 1er Cru

(The following tasting notes were taken under less than 'standard' condition as I was not in the best state of health at this point in time. Particularly I was not able to decipher textures of the wines well and so you might notice the lack of texture descriptors in my notes below, a marked departure from norm... It, however, still represents my best effort.)

The 2002 Boillot "Fremiets" struck me as heady, fat but textured. It gave an impression of almost roasted fruits, and exited with a warmish alcoholic finish. Rather simple and too in-your-face to my liking. The 2000 Girardin "Les Santenots" showed a higher pitched aromas of raspberries and redcurrants. Quite minerally but lacking thrust on the palate. Still it is a more balanced representation than the previous wine. Lafon's 1997 "Santenots du Milieu" was slightly corked. After some time in the glass, as the musty taint faded, sweetish aromas of cherries and toasty oak came aorund. In the mouth this was quite voluminous and packs a bit of punch -- quite impressive, especially in the context of the vintage. What it lacked was vibrancy, but I'd give this some benefits of the doubt as the wine condition was surely less than pristine.

The 1998 pair was most interesting. Lafarge's "Clos du Chateau des Ducs" aromatics were very special. Roasted meats intermigled with flinty cherries and some currants. On the palate this was very noble too -- transparent yet authoritative with good density, enormous volume and energy reserves. Mouth-coating tannins were broad and fine. There would be many long years ahead of it for sure, and will be very special, I reckon. Lafon's "Santenots du Milieu" was more forward and generous. Black cherries infused sweetness and oak influences were noticeable but not out of balance. Pristine despite being quite extracted, and certainly more energetic than the 1997 version.

The wines from the structured vintages of 1995 and 1996 were both wonderful. These vintages were highly touted by the critics -- especially the 1996 -- for being concentrated, pure and potentially having long lives ahead. Both the samples tonight seemed to echo these impressions. 1995 Hubert de Montille "Champans" was elegance personified. It was near-weightless on the palate, very cool, highly nuanced, yet intense and sweet -- all in a very understated package. The aromatics were feminine and seductive -- floral hints atop crushed pure red fruits, the complexity of which was extended by the suggestions of spices and a very delicate cinnamon hint. Despite being still very tightly wound, this is one very promising wine that deserves many more years in the cellar to unveil its eventual grandeur. 1996 Lafon "Santenots du Milieu" was the most different wine amongst the vertical of this wine tonight. High-pitched steely cherries and meatstock on the nose, it led to a compact and intense frame supported by a formidable acid spine. The overall impression is one of coolness and restrain. It's hard to focus on the fruits at this juncture, but it was all there too, just a tad muted. This reminds me of a Chambolle-Musigny somewhat. Despite the hard-core impression of these wines, I still find them very charming.

The blind flight of four bottles of 1999 ended the Volnay comparatives. 1999 is probably the most raved about vintage after 1990 but today after endless press hypes, the public is modishly enamoured by the picture-perfect 2002 vintage, the question which remains is: is the 1999 vintage still that special? There were four wines in this flight, and all exhibit a common attribute -- they were all very ripe (but not overripe), deeply coloured (except for one), dense, sweet and generously-sized. This was certainly a very good year for Cote d'Or and a notably successful year for Cote de Beaune in particular, as it had been suffering from less than perfect conditions during the prior several vintages (a trend which, sadly, continued to plague it after this vintage as well until 2002 came along). Lafarge's "Clos des Chenes" was structured, ripe, and quite minerally, displaying steely raspberries and a fair amount of wood lurking underneath the generous layers of fruits. This is a very powerful Volnay (I guessed this was a Clos des Chenes but was wrong about the producer.) Lafon's "Clos des Chenes" displayed a more roasted style. It was quite exotic and very ripe as well, giving hints of liqueur-like sweetness. It is sweet, supple, layered and round. Already displaying a level of profundity and expressiveness even at this juncture. Lafon's "Santenots du Milieu" was a brooding, deeply coloured and superripe wine. Hints of smoked meats and earth adds complexity to its huge, almost chunky frame. Surprisingly the wine remains energetic thanks to the acid spine. A very powerful wine indeed too. Marquis d'Angerville "Champans" was the lightest coloured one of all (even when compared to the other vintages). Sweet berry-scented nose led to a rather silky but syrupy palate which although was clean and red-fruits laden, somewhat lacked energy and tasted clumsy. This could well please the crowd for its easygoing nature, but for a wine of such breed and vintage, it was to me an underachievement.

How about the first and last wines from the 70s? The 1979 Ampeau Meursault "Perrieres" looked and tasted much younger than it really is. Flint-accented nose gave way to liquid minerals in the mouth. White peaches and pears featured in this broad and slightly oily textured wine. I wished that it had more penetration and put on more texture though... The 1978 Ganoux Pommard "Les Rugiens" was heavily sedimented. The brickish deep-red liquid had an attractive (at least to me) aromatics of wet forest floors, sweet tobacco, herbs and mushrooms. It was still fresh and did not belie its origin -- hints of game and rusticity were found suggesting this came from a masculine four-square terroir. Quite nice.

The Volnays were indeed excellent wines. For what they were, despite stylistic differences between the various producers, I would consider them to hold its own amongst the very best in burgundy. Of course it is both futile and meaningless to, say, compare these with the best sites in Gevrey-Chambertin or Vosne-Romanee -- they would be so very different (and boy am I thankful for that!) These Volnays however embody to a larger extent the gentler, carressing side of pinot noir, without compromising the enthralling characteristics imparted by burgundy soils which gave its unique aromatic nuances, texture and palate depths of the resultant wines. These Volnays too showed enough breadth and depth of characterization -- ranging from 'soft' to 'powerful', 'seductive' to 'structured', 'pleasant' to 'academic' -- proving it a serious and complete appellation in its own right. I only wished I had some of these in my own cellar.