2009 Domaine Nicolas Rossignol Nicolas Volnay Ronceret 1er Cru

The estate’s 2009 Volnay Ronceret is a big, burly wine loaded with dark cherries and blackberries. The hard tannins give the Ronceret an element of austerity that is out of place in this otherwise distinguished set of wines. The Ronceret was made with 35% whole bunches. Tasted from barrel. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2024. Nicolas Rossignol began picking on September 10th and brought in very ripe fruit, with natural alcohols in the 13.5% range. Rossignol used a higher percentage of stems than normal to give the wines a measure of freshness. The wines saw 20-24 days of cuvaison (with no cold soak) with one punchdown per day. New oak ranged from 15% for the villages to 33-50% for the 1ers. The wines were not racked during their time in barrel. Rossignol has an energy and passion that will take him far. His 2009s are a bit all over the place stylistically, though, and it appears that a distinct house style has yet to emerge. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Toepfer Imports LLC, CO; tel. (303) 818-7640; Pas Mal Portfolio, NY; tel. (201) 569-4132

Very deep crimson. Very tired sample (taken about nine days ago). Lots of sweetness and then pinched. (JR)