2015 Volnay Santenots

Cask sample. Freshly sawn oak aromas, vivid cherry fruit. Less fragrant lift than their Clos des Angles. Gummy tannic texture. Tight, unyielding. This is harder to enjoy than their other cuvées – but perhaps just needs time? (RH)

The 2015 Volnay 1er Cru les Santenots comes from 2.1 hectares of vine that Nicolas treats as three different cuvées before blending them together. This is completely de-stemmed as usual. It has an attractive bouquet that shows more class than the other premier crus, with scents of crushed violets, black cherries, blackcurrant and iodine. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent entry, vibrant and lively with crisp acidity and chalky tannin that leads towards a sensual and opulent finish that is beautifully controlled. This is the best Volnay that Nicolas has produced in 2015.

(13% natural alcohol; already racked into cuve ): Very dark red with ruby tones. Liqueur-like black fruits on the nose, which shows a faintly tired quality. Then much fresher in the mouth but in a closed stage, conveying considerable power to the flavors of kirsch , blackberry and licorice. This rather massive Volnay, from deep, iron-rich soil, finishes with strong tannins and a faint animal quality. Rossignol works with two hectares, vinifying three different parcels and then assembling the wine. This wine is in an awkward phase now but I will give it the benefit of the doubt as it has not yet been sulfured.