2009 Volnay

Really good line up that provided a chance to taste through some very different expressions of one of my favorite communes in the Cote d'Or.

• 2009 Xavier Monnot Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Relatively pale. Intense rose florality on the nose. Light raspberry fruit, some underlying soil and good acidity. Definitely a delicate style Volnay, but at the end of the day, just not enough depth of flavor or length. More at the level of a village wine.

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• 2009 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Medium red. Menthol backed up by ripe berries and baby powder. Surprising ripe flash of blueberry fruit on the entry but not fat. Then, typical light weight, focused acidity, some licorice. Harmonious feel, good balance, dry, slightly tart finish. A big step up from the Monnot.

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• 2009 Domaine Marquis d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Angles

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Lighter color. Very fragrant wild strawberry. Not as rich or ripe as the 1er Cru. Firmer, tarter fraises des bois, driving acidity. Subtle, delicate, poised. All in all, extremely fine, pure, and the essence of Volnay. My favorite of the 9 wines poured.

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• 2009 Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay 1er Cru Les Fremiets

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Light to medium red. Ripe fruit aromas with some background anise. Fairly big, round and relatively voluminous for this set of wines. After the more ethereal Angerville, almost ponderous in comparison. However, it does have good material with black fruit, licorice and soil, reasonable length. Lower acidity but quite tannic and finishes with a rough edge that reminds me more of Pommard than Volnay.

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• 2009 Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay 1er Cru Champans

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Medium ruby. Pungent, gamy nose. Like the Fremiets, big and even more sappy and syrupy without being overtly sweet. A dash of earth adds some complexity to the flavors. I'd be hard pressed to pick this out as Volnay. Too big for its britches.

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• 2009 Faiveley Volnay 1er Cru Santenots

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Moderately deep color. Penetrating soil tones that don't quite prepare you for a very ripe, medicinal cherry entry that carries through in a pretty monochromatic way buttressed by an oaky base. Only a touch of earth on the palate. Shorter finish than many of these wines. Not my style.

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• 2009 Bouchard Père et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Medium ruby. Tart cherry aromatics. After the Faiveley, airier and back to a more typical weight for Volnay. More so than the fruit, the high char oak does most of the talking from start to finish, giving the wine real smokiness but also some astringency on the back end. Too bad that the wood is so exaggerated.

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• 2009 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d'Or

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Deep ruby. High pitched, anise laden nose. Lush, textured wine with an obvious foundation of oak. Almost bitter chocolate first impression, some green herb elements, and excellent acidity. Big, somewhat blurry and dominated by the wood on the finish. As was the case several weeks ago when I tasted the two side by side, I much preferred the 60 Ouvrees to this.

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• 2009 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrées

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

  Medium ruby. Subtler nose of mixed fruit with much more soil than the Bousse d'Or. Lovely, bright red fruit, terrific texture with some herbal notes as well. Spice and vanilla, less marked by wood, finer, lighter and longer than its stablemate. A beauty and for me, only the Angerville Clos des Angles was better today.

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Particularly interesting were the 3 domains with more than one wine represented. Angerville-absolutely lovely with structure, delicacy, and shape that are retained even in a riper vintage such as 2009. Voillot-they appear to be striving for maximal extraction rather than finesse. Pousse d'Or-walking (or crossing) a fine line in terms of how far you can push the oak in Volnay, but that said, the 60 Ouvrees still manages to be wonderful wine.