1995 Volnay Santenots

The outstanding Volnay Santenots is medium-to-dark ruby-colored and reveals a wonderfully elegant nose of roses, black cherries, currants and soy sauce. This exceptionally well-made wine offers a thickly-textured, medium-to-full-bodied and intensely deep flavor profile of blackberries, cassis and touches of earth and underbrush. It is magnificently balanced with ripe, round tannins in its exquisite finish. Anticipated maturity: 1999-2006. As Daniel Haas, this estate's US importer put it so succinctly, "Thierry hates new oak in white wine." Thierry Matrot, the gentleman in question, runs this domaine which bears his grandfather's name. In 1995, both his red and white offerings show perfectly ripe fruit, which, in the case of the whites, is particularly important as no new oak flavors are present to mask any flaws in the fruit. His delicious and succulent reds are aged in 20% new oak. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel (205) 980-8802.