2017 Volnay Les Santenots 1er Cru

Tucked just behind the Clos des Ducs, this domaine has quietly gone about producing some very fine wines in recent years, though like his fellow Volnaysians, Thierry Glantenay has suffered at the hands of frost and hail in recent vintages. Fortunately, the prosperous 2017 and 2018 vintages have filled up the once-empty cellars. “We had good yields in 2017,” Glantenay told me as I took a pew in his vat room. “We commenced the picking in Puligny-Montrachet on September 3 and two days later with the reds, cropping at around 40hl/ha on average. I kept checking the fruit in the vineyards. There was sugar in the berries, but you had to wait for the phenolic ripeness. It came, and in the end there was no need to chaptalise. Alcohol degrees were already around 13.8°. We used between zero and 30% stems this year except for Les Caillerets, which had 50%.” Indeed, that particular Volnay is the standout this year, alongside its “sibling” Clos des Chênes, which unfortunately yielded less in 2017 than in 2016. Also, do not overlook Glantenay’s Pommard Les Saucilles, a lesser-seen Premier Cru that can often performs well.