Winemaker Notes
Champans is the archetype of the great Volnay Premier Cru: finesse, fullness and length on the palate with an extra generosity and power of its own
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The 2023 Champans is one of my favourite wines from this cellar, as it is in many vintages. It offers lush, forward black- and blue-fruit aromas, with hints of flowers, earth and leather. The supple yet supportive tannins and a plump mouthfeel (from the dense extract) lead to a lingering finish. The grapes come from d'Angerville's superb holdings here of almost 4ha. This seductive wine should open in three to five years, and will easily stay at the top of its form for 20 years or more.
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Vinous
The 2023 Volnay Les Champans 1er Cru has a delineated, intricate bouquet that opens beautifully in the glass. It is surprisingly mineral-driven given the warmth of the season, with the terroir really coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly edgier tannins compared to the Taillepieds. This finely crafted, quite sapid Champans is fresh with a little more salinity, particularly toward the finish.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Even in this more charming vintage, the 2023 Volnay 1er Cru Champans is the most structured wine in the range, opening up to reveal notes of cherries, berries and peonies, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and broad-shouldered palate built around sweet, powdery tannins. It will reward a bit of patience.
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.