Vincent Girardin Volnay Les Vieilles Vignes 2018
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Jeb
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Volnay combines breeding with nobility, delicacy, elegance, and feminity. A delicate violet and berry fragrance. One of the finest representatives of the Côte de Beaune. The Volnay is in the Côte de Beaune what the Chambolle-Musigny is in the Côte de Nuits. A feminine wine which is one of the only Burgundy Pinot Noir you can already enjoy and drink when young. Pair with roasted meats and various cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another beautiful Volnay from this producer, the 2018 Volnay Les Vieilles Vignes shows the warmth of the vintage in its ripe, sexy perfume of red and black fruits, dried flowers, spice box, and loamy earth. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it offers silky tannins, loads of sweet fruit, and outstanding length on the finish. The purity of fruit as well as the quality of the tannins are brilliant, and this can be enjoyed any time over the coming 15 years or so.
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Wine Enthusiast
Touches of earth and mocha hover above the glass but swirling brings ripe cherry notes to the fore. The palate of this wine blends tart red fruit with much darker berry notes, reminiscent of black currant with a menthol sheen. The body is concentrated and tarry oak notes fill all the gaps in this fine web.
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Wine Spectator
A sleek, well-defined style, featuring a laser of cherry and currant flavors and a supporting cast of mineral and oak spice. It's firm, with tactile tannins guarding the finish, staying balanced and long.
Other Vintages
2019-
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Spectator
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Jeb
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The history of Maison Vincent Girardin is relatively recent. In 1980, at the age of 19, Vincent Girardin, the son of a family of winegrowers based in Santenay since the 17th century, decided to strike out on his own and began producing wine from five acres of vines that he had inherited from his parents. From his earliest youth, Vincent had a passion for working with vines and great respect for the potential that they represent, and his ambition was to produce his own wine. The quality of his wines was quickly recognized by connoisseurs all over the world, and this enabled him to expand his activity, focusing primarily on the great white and red wines of the Côte de Beaune. To cope with the growing demand for his wines, he developed an approach that was new in Burgundy: he purchased grapes from producers who shared the same philosophy and the same high standards. In 2012, Vincent Girardin sold his operation to a long-standing partner of the Maison. Jean-Pierre Nié, President of the Compagnie des Vins d’Autrefois in Beaune, naturally decided to continue with the small team of nine people that had been faithful to the Maison for many years. Today, Eric Germain continues to uphold the style of the wines, and Marco Caschera markets them all over the world.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
On the hillsides between Pommard and Meursault, Volnay is one of two villages in the Côte de Beaune of Burgundy that is recognized for its extraordinary Pinot Noir. Pommard is the other; the rest of the villages are most known for some of the most exceptional Chardonnay in the world. While Volnay Pinot Noir tends to be light in color and more delicate than that of Pommard, they typically stand on par with each other in regards to quality and demand.
Volnay can’t claim any Grands Crus vineyards but more than half of it has achieved Premier Cru status. Volnay Premiers Crus vineyards stretch across the entire village from northeast to southwest, abutting and actually falling “into” Meursault. Where they merge is a vineyard called Les Santenots. Pinot Noir grows in this Meursault Premier Cru but since that village is most associated with stellar whites, the Pinot Noir from Les Santenots, takes the name Volnay Santenots. Immediately above it are Volnay’s other prized Premier Cru, Le Cailleret, Champans, Clos des Chênes and Le Cailleret.
Volnay Pinot Noir are earthy with red or blue fruit. Aromas such as smoke, herbs, forest, cocoa and spice are common and on the palate they are gorgeous and concentrated with finesse but won’t truly charm you without some age.