2015 Volnay Caillerets 1er Cru

Nicolas Rossignol was a happy camper when I visited him in January at his spanking-new winery in an industrial park on the south side of Beaune. He had recently vinified his second harvest (2017) at the new facility and for the first time in several years had a full crop of grapes. In 2016, however, he lost 85% of his normal crop and is missing several cuvées. He harvested beginning on September 24 with grape sugars between 12.8% and 13.6% (he did not use any fruit from second-generation buds) and did not chaptalize. Nor did he purchase any new barrels for this tiny crop. The wines were racked into tanks in December and Rossignol planned to bottle them in February. Rossignol does not carry out a pre-fermentation cold soak, and in 2016 he did a maximum of three or four pigeages for each wine; in the old days, he reminded me, it was three per day. “You can really feel the terroirs in 2016,” he said.

Rossignol bottled his ‘15s a bit later—between March and June of 2017. “It was a perfect, stress-free growing season from beginning to end,” he told me. His only regret was that he had to move his ‘15s from his previous cellar to his new one in November and December of ’16. Still, Rossignol noted that he was surprised by the density of the wines at the end and believes that they will give great pleasure, “like the ‘47s,” but will need long aging. He noted that the ‘16s will be better for the next five or six years but the ‘15s will be superior in the long run. "Slowly but surely, the terroir will eat the vintage character,” he offered. He also believes that his ‘15s are more stable than his ‘16s, as their volatile acidity levels are lower, despite the fact that he didn’t add sulfur during élevage. And his ‘15s went into bottle with pH between 3.45 and 3.55, vs. 3.55 to 3.7 for the ’16. On the other hand, he also believes that ‘15s in many other cellars are frequently too ripe or too heavily extracted, and he’s much less confident about the aging potential of these wines.

During the course of my tasting, Rossignol took some shots at “natural wines,” including some made by friends of his. “Wines need utterly clean, neutral conditions,” he maintained. “Too many natural wines are killed by brettanomyces and end up tasting the same.” Rossignol designed his 15,000-square-foot winery to allow him to work with minimal sulfur without worrying about bacterial spoilage. The exterior of the winery consists of two layers of poured concrete around an iron core, with multiple sections attached “like lego blocks.” A thick layer of earth and grass on top serves as an insulater. The barrel cellar, which is situated between an air-conditioned bottle storage space and the fermentation room, is always cool, and the gravel-and-earth floor maintains high humidity. As an added bonus, Rossignol enjoys a spectacular view of the côtes on clear days.

Rossignol owns 17 hectares of vines and rents others, including vineyards adjacent to his that are owned by his uncle. He has cleaned up and repruned these latter vineyards, reduced yields and eliminated the use of chemical herbicides, and he will replant 1.8 hectares this year. This is a sizable operation and the wines are better than ever.

Nicolas Rossignol has just finished building a new winemaking facility outside Beaune—a gutsy financial move considering how much potential revenue he lost to hail in vintages 2012, 2013 and 2014. To make matters worse, he told me he made just 20% of a normal crop in 2016, owing to the widespread frost. Happily, Rossignol only lost 25% to 30% of his crop in 2015, which he describes as “a great vintage: I’ve never seen a year like this in my life.” Rossignol started harvesting on September 3 and finished on the morning of September 12, just before the rain started. Potential alcohol levels ranged from 11.8% to 12.8%; he chaptalized his lighter village wines to 12.5% and his premier crus to 13%. “The rains came at just the right time during the summer,” he told me. “It was a dream season; we really didn’t have any blockage of maturity in 2015.”

“Two thousand fifteen is better than 2012, 2009, 2005 and 1999,” he insisted, “as the vintage character in 2015 does not dominate the terroir. The wines are large, thick and long; rich and complex; and elegant too. Also, 2015 was a small crop, which will make a difference in the longevity of the vintage.” Rossignol carried out a total of just four or five punchdowns per cuvée and also minimized the number of pumpovers. He opted to use a bit more new oak than usual in 2015: 25% to 30% for his premier crus and 10% to 15% for his village wines. As he is “obsessed” with letting his wines expand during their élevage, he had not sulfured them since the harvest. He may also bottle some of his 2015s later than usual.