2020 Volnay Les Santenots 1er Cru

It was a bright, sunny day when I dropped in to see Thierry Glantenay, though alas, the panoramic view from his upper terrace did not afford a view of Mont Blanc on this occasion. “There was no canicule like in 2019,” he explained as I tasted in his kitchen. “It is a vintage that is characterized by the dryness rather than the heat, and you could see the differences between the terroirs. The Premier Crus yielded less than the vines on the plateau due to the dryness, around 15hl/ha. I started the harvest very early, on August 20, and finished on August 30. When I started tasting the grapes, I could see that I risked over-maturity, in the form of fig-like notes, had I chosen to wait. The fermentation was normal with hardly any pigeage, just one or two at the beginning of the cuvaison and a light remontage. The alcohol levels are around the same as 2018, but the malolactic fermentation finished much quicker, as the indigenous yeasts were much more efficient.” Here, the Pommard Les Rugiens and the Volnay Clos des Chênes will surely tussle it out for Glantenay’s finest 2020, though maybe you should snap up a bottle of the Pommard Riottes, since the vines were pulled up after the harvest for re-planting, and it will be several years before we see its return to the fold.