Winemaker Notes
De Montille's Taillepieds is one of the true "flagships" of the domaine, and is a model of aromatic purity and precision. The nose is consistently floral and spicy with earthy elements, while the palate is structured with a tight, dense and tannic profile. Chewy in its youth, but purity and minerality are revealed with time. A serious and long-lived wine in the De Montille lineup.
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
100% whole cluster but shaped very differently. This is a much richer wine and the fruit swamps the stems. Generous cherry and raspberry, effortless balance, a beautiful bottle of Volnay in the making. The flavours come back in waves. Drink from 2030-2038. Tasted Oct 2024.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Vinous
Utilizing 50% whole clusters, the 2023 Volnay Les Taillepieds 1er Cru has a fragrant bouquet with red cherries, strawberry fruit and potpourri, with the stems more assimilated here compared to the Les Mitans. Fresh and saline, the palate is medium-bodied with finely knit tannins and a brittle, chalky-textured finish. Give this at least a couple of years in bottle. This is very promising.
Barrel Sample: 92-94
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.