2005 Volnay Taillepieds

De Montille’s 2005 Volnay Taillepieds – destined to remain for a longer time in its (40% new) barrels than most of de Montille’s other wines – ratchets up the intensity from its predecessors. Aromas of black raspberry, flowers and pungent, charred, dusty, ore-like and crushed stone mineral notes set a serious tone for what follows. Ripe, spiced black fruits and a soy-like savor team up for a palate of terrific richness, palpable density, abundant fine tannins, but also an enormous sense of energy and mouth-watering enticement. Wet stone, chalk, wood smoke, and charred meat make for a somber, low-toned side to this wine’s impressively persistent finish, but neither is there a lack of (black) fruit or savory salinity. This superbly concentrated and structured wine needs at least 10-12 years in the cellar, I suspect. Various importers, including Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040. Also, a Thomas Calder Selection, Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29

Good deep red. Deeply pitched, complex nose offers dark raspberry, minerals, spices and violet. Densely packed, broad and powerful, with sweet fruit and mineral flavors saturating the palate. This boasts terrific richness and force and finishes impressively long, with solid tannic grip. A perfumed, elegant, deep wine with an assertive personality.

The 2005 Volnay Les Taillepieds 1er Cru has quite the herbal nose, the whole-bunch element quite conspicuous. A light aroma of pencil shavings comes through with time. The palate is medium-bodied and well defined, again, the stems are a bit too vocal for my liking and not as assimilated into the wine as they should be. Just a dab of white pepper surfaces on the finish. Not bad overall, just compromised by too much whole-bunch. Tasted at the Sanglier dinner in Burgundy.