1998 Volnay Caillerets 1er Cru

Nicolas Rossignol began vinifying in '94 after finishing enology school, and currently works with 4 hectares of his own vines and 12 from his father and grandfather (Domaine Rossignol-Jeanniard). Like many other young vignerons attempting to build a presence in the market, he also supplements his production via rental (fermage) and sharecropping (metayage) arrangements. Rossignol gives his destemmed fruit an extended cold soak, then does a fairly extractive vinification, punching down the cap three times a day, and then heating the must to 35o to 38o at the end of the fermentation. For several of his cuvees he has also adopted a technique widely used in the Southern Rhone Valley to extract stable color and tannins (delestage au chaud): the juice is drained from the tank and heated to about 40oC for up to an hour, then poured back over the solids, which have been allowed to concentrate in one solid mass during this period. This process may be repeated three or four times during the period of active fermentation. Rossignol sells off most of his press wine rather than adding it back to his wines. He prefers to use a high percentage of new oak "for concentrated cuvees and vintages"; the wines for his American importer are aged entirely in new and once-used barrels. Rossignol describes the '97 vintage as a bit flabby; the '98s, he says, offer good balance and acidity, as well as more elegance. Rossignol is a fast learner: his '98s generally surpass his '97s, though because different techniques are used for different wines, styles vary considerably. (Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.)