2021 Volnay Les Santenots 1er Cru

“It was complicated as usual,” Glantenay tells me as I settle at his kitchen table, afforded a wonderful panorama eastwards across to the Alps. “The frost was intense everywhere, especially in the more precocious plots like Caillerets, Folatières and Clos des Chênes, around 15hL/ha for the Premier Cru, though some Premier Crus like Brouillard and the Village Crus is 25hL/ha. Yields were about 20hL/ha overall. The summer was cooler than in other years but with no dryness problem. I started picking around 18-20 September. It was a small volume, so it was fermented for the first time in small five-hectoliter fermenters at a slightly lower temperature at the beginning, then up to 28° Celsius as normal. The cuvées are all de-stemmed except for the Volnay Caillerets, as the stems were a bit green. I didn’t change the maceration as I didn’t want to extract any green tannins, with one remontage a day at the beginning and just a couple of pigeages at the start of the cuvaison. It’s a more classic style but not an extraordinary vintage, yet there is good balance and acidity. I think these are wines to drink early. I will bottle the Village Crus at the end of the year and the Premier Crus between February and March.”