2021 Volnay Village

David Rebourgeon has overseen a quiet revolution at this Pommard domaine, a neighbour of Thibaud Clerget. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” Rebourgeon tells me when discussing the 2021 vintage. “There were problems with the frost and then complications with mildew, but the wines have improved a lot in August. It’s a ‘Vintage Bourguignon’ with freshness and elegance, plenty of purity. We started the picking on 18 September. We usually pick a hectare a day, but we picked quicker due to lower quantity and finished on 23 September. The big problem is losing 50% of volume depending on the lieu-dit. We racked during the 2022 harvest, and some of the bottles were bottled this week (October) to maintain the freshness.” I’ve enjoyed a lot of Rebourgeon’s wines recently, though I am quite surprised by their high-toned nature. They are darker in colour with blacker fruit than Clerget’s, a consequence of which I feel just missed some of their trademark terroir expression and elegance. It will be interesting to see how these show once bottled.