2010 Volnay Clos des Chenes

The 2010 Volnay Clos des Chenes comes across as big, powerful and structured. Layers of dark fruit fill out the wine’s muscular frame nicely in this intense, deep Volnay. The 2010 will require patience, but it is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. This is a decidedly masculine style. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2030. The 2010 harvest at Bitouzet-Prieur started on September 25 for the whites and the 26th for the reds. The domaine lost 35% of its production in 2010, echoing an all-too common theme throughout Burgundy. None of the 2010 reds were chaptalized, and the wines were racked once, just after the malos. New oak levels were slightly higher in 2010 as a reflection of lower overall yields, and range from 25-40%. Some of the 2010 reds were bottled in November 2011. Those wines have been assigned final scores. I tasted all of the other 2010 reds from barrel. The wines, still in barrel at the time of my tastings, were scheduled to be bottled between January and March 2012. I also tasted the 2010 Volnay Caillerets, but it was too reduced to accurately evaluate. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990