Winemaker Notes
This medium-bodied wine has aromas of red berries, violets and light black pepper. It will develop in the bottle for 8 to 12 years.
Perfect with roasted meat or poultry; great vintages will stand up to game.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru, aged in regular and 450-liter barrels, is, by far, blessed with the most complex and terroir-driven bouquet of the three Volnays tasted from Jadot. Red cherries, white-tipped strawberries and a touch of rose petals seem to unfurl in the glass. The palate is well-balanced, with slightly chalky tannins lending the edge and nerve less evident on the Clos de la Barre. Persistent in the mouth, this is a finely crafted Volnay that will age with style.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes (Domaine Louis Jadot) delivers aromas of sweet berries, cherries, smoke and loamy soil, followed by a medium to full-bodied, lively palate with a sweet core of fruit, powdery tannins and good acids.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Wine Spectator
Pure, well-delineated and elegant, this red features cherry, strawberry, rose, mineral and oak spice flavors. Firm, lean and long on the aftertaste. Its refined tannins will need time to integrate. Best from 2028 through 2043. 20 cases imported.
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.