January 13, 2024 - Exactly correct. A point. Light red color but no bricking. Umami sub bois nose. Loads of red fruit, lighter than plum but darker than cherry. Light bodied. Mature and lively. Intense mid palate and long finish. Will drink well for a while. Morish.
May 5, 2022 - 2002 Burgundy @ Noizé: A little more stuffing here. A density of fruit. Redder fruited and with a mineral line, spine without austerity. More poise and breeding here. Polished. ****
July 9, 2021 - Opened and decanted off the sediment at 5:00, back into the bottle. Served at maybe 7:45, as part of a trio of Volnay, blind - I knew it was in there, but not which one it was. Excellent showing. Second wine served, and served after a truly ethereal and GORGEOUS bottle that was revealed later to be 2000 Lafarge Clos des Chenes. And I mean that wine was stunning, the nose along silenced the table. This wine, which I didn't know was this wine while drinking it, was a richer and riper wine. None of the ethereal fruit and dried flower, nothing like the same same wispy grace. But very lovely in its way. Darker fruit and a distinct black tea aromatic profile, much more savory in character. Continued to improve until it was gone - improving in balance and detail and articulation of aroma. The palate was fuller in texture than the 2000 Lafarge, and was entirely balanced and showed good complexity of fruit, and a savory mineral tone too, This wine showed more density of material than the Lafarge, but it was wonderful to notice how although these wines were so different, they were clearly siblings in their textural silkiness and grace. A very good night for Volnay...
February 12, 2021 - Exactly in line with previous bottles. Sweet remnants of fruit fading into some sous bois bottle sweetness. Flowers, earth, a touch of spice a bit of a hint of tart red fruits and the slightest of grip. This is what we mean when we talk about Burgundy.
August 20, 2020 - This is a very good wine, but it’s also a very quiet wine. One wine writer I very much respect wrote a while ago that the de Montille wines can seem to “lack stuffings.” I understand that criticism based on this and a few other bottles in recent years. But there is A subtle impact and power to the wine, and there is delicate and pretty fruit, good balance and structure, and a strong iron-like minerality too. Good wine. Not my favorite of the Volnay producers and not something that would show well among many bottles at a dinner or a tasting. But lovely as the one bottle you open and share at dinner.
March 25, 2020 - very nice, medium body, fairly structured, some secondary, not a wow wine,D/H
February 17, 2020 - Served next to the 93, this was the plusher wine with good structure and some very good dark red fruit on the finish. The finish was a bit short, and the palate didn’t quite follow through toward the end. An excellent wine, but overshadowed by the 93
November 27, 2019 - Gained depth, focus, and energy over two hours open. Lovely, pretty red fruits, notably silken in texture, great balance, and power without weight. A very good showing and clearly a very good wine, and I think it will improve and hopefully demonstrate more complexity and detail over the decade to come.
November 25, 2019 - Lovely ruby red; given some aeration in a decanter for 30 minutes to reveal a wonderfully pure nose of red fruit and spice; on the palate it's juicy and succulent and the structure and focus is razor sharp with lots of complexity involving flavours of red fruits, earth and minerals backed up by a punchy acidic spine. Terroir is writ large. Tannins are silky and fine and the finish is long. As with many de Montille wines this weighs in at only 12% and so a deft hand is required to make a wine that impresses and this impresses in every department. Really excellent. Estimated maturity: Now-2025.
August 27, 2019 - Really a straight line from the bottle a year ago except, if anything, more aromatic. Red currants and cherries for fruit and then nuance after nuance be it spice, flora or earth. These are really great now, dig in.