Tasted in Volnay, 26 October 2021, with Thierry Glantenay.
Domaine Bernard & Thierry Glantenay
3 rue Vaut
21190 Volnay
Tel: +33 3 80 21 62 20
More reports with Thierry Glantenay
Thierry on 2021:
“Not so bad – though, of course, it depends on which vintage you want to compare it with! As you can imagine, most pf our Folatières was lost – we have less than a 6th!”
Thierry on 2020:
“The flats, including Brouillards was okay in terms of volume but the wines on the slopes were more like 20 hl/ha because of the heat and dry. In Santenots, for instance, I had more in 2021! But generally, not a lot more than in 2021. Actually, 2019 was the lowest volume vintage because it was the regionals and villages that were lost and these are my biggest areas. It was the year where I also finished the harvest in August – that was a first! The 2018s were harder to ferment, the 2019s were okay, and a bit lower alcohol than the 2020s but the 2020s still went through fine.”
The wines…
Always a treat to taste with Thierry. There will be some covetable wines in this cellar with 2020 labels…
Labelled as such since 2019. This the only wine assembled in tank – done two weeks earlier – all from the commune of Volnay with an average vine age of 35…
Impressive depth of colour – ‘We didn’t try to extract!‘ Deep, layered, but still there’s a purity to this ripe black cherry fruit. Not too sweet, sweeping with energy and mouth-watering flavour. This needs a bit of time to come together but all the parts are much more impressive than you might expect for the label! This should be great regional
All the wines from barrel now :
2020 Volnay
The grapes from the 5 various parcels are assembled, pre-fermentation, into one big tank. 2 parcels are 1er cru – Lurets and Ormeau
This is open and pure and very, very inviting – despite the deep colour this is very elegant. Extra depth, layers of impressive concentration without becoming heavy. So finely grained you might miss the tannin – still, a wine that would have me waiting 10 years – structured, saline, but like the tannin, you might not notice given the weight of fresh fruit!
2020 Pommard Riottes
Pulled the vines out this year due to their mounting degeneration since 2017.
Almost saturated colour. A perfumed nose but not as forward as the colour would suggest. Plenty of energy – intensity too. The faintest pyrazine accent brings a bit more complexity. Direct, intense – indeed powerful – but not hard. Also for keeping.
2020 Volnay 1er Brouillards
Not many make this 1er Cru as the Glantenays have the largest portion of this vineyard. ‘Brouillards doesn’t always have the most complexity but it’s a concentrated masculine wine. But usually classed as an entry-wine for 1ers.’ A little more than 1 ha owned here, and old vines too.
A finer nose, floral perfumed. Extra energy and freshness – really a dynamo – dark fruited. The flavour clinging to the gums, a wine that I’d be waiting for again – there’s, again, power without weight here and that’s impressive – it will even be more impressive in 10+ years. Super wine.
Santenots du Bas, under the Clos des Santenots of Prieur. In the context of the domaine’s other vines, ‘only’ about 35-year-old vines here.
Thats a fine, and acidulated fruit nose with a fine floral layer above. Mouth-watering, melting, gorgeous flavour. That’s a great wine. Of course, here, for keeping a while. But fresh and vibrant finishing too. Bravo!
2020 Pommard 1er Saucilles
1902 vines near the Clos des Mouches of Beaune
A fine nose, airy, floral, gentian, so perhaps again with an accent of pyrazine. That sits absolutely beautifully on the palate – more elegance than the Santenots but just so mouth-watering too. The touch of pyrazine is almost a positive here – as a minimum, excellent wine.
These vines are next to the Clos des 60 Ouvrées, but here there are only 4 ouvrées!
Thats a beautiful floral perfume – so good! A little structural, architectural, but so fine and melting over the palate – the wc perfume showing through here. Thats a great one!
86 year-old vines
A comparable complexity to the Caillerets but delivered in a more spiced as opposed to floral, style. Where the tannin of the Caillerets had some modest visibility, here is a cross between silk and velour – thats just so good. I slightly prefer the flavour profile of the last – but here is more impressively textured. Another great wine! And so wide and persistently finishing too.
2020 Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
One parcel near Lafon and the Château Meursault, right in the middle of the appellation. 0.5 ha, a mix of old vines and 20-years-old. Two thirds the latter. ‘Always the strongest, the most solar, the most masculine of the domaine’s wines, hence, last.’
A more generously fruited nose of dark fruit – the aromatic impression of silk. Really concentrated, mouth-filling fruit – but there’s no over maturity or cooked style to this fruit – it’s fresh – but big too. No faults just a different volume setting on your amplifier!
2019(!) Volnay
Not the same colour. This bottled in the spring.
Fresh, red-fruited with lovely energy. Great texture, a touch of fat, but layered and delicious. There’s a vibrancy to the finish too after the more considered middle.
2019(!) Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
Lots of freshness – fine aromatic energy here too – the red fruit more vertical than wide in style. Clean cut, structural, a nice definition here. That’s really super wine
Le white:
2020 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Folatières
From barrel. Higher vines in three parts, neighbouring Pernot about 50 metres from Lalou, roughly 70-year-old vines. Old vines with only 35 hl/ha. ‘I don’t harvest early but I also don’t want heavy – but with what I have, there’s always some richness here.’
Ooh, thats a powerful and forward nose. Clearly mineral, though modest starting, growing, bubbling with mineral energy and complexity. Great texture. A really top finish too. This is rich, it’s not really a wine of tension, except the energy that comes from the minerality, but it’s absolutely delicious.