Red

“The 2017 Volnay 1er Cru Les Brouillards exhibits beautiful nose notes of orange rind, wild berries, cassis and rose petals. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, supple and satiny, with a lavishly textural attack, melting tannins and a succulent core of fruit, concluding with a long finish. In 2016, this cuvée was so small that Glantenay included it in his Volnay AOC, but happily, 2017 marks its return to the range. 90-92 points

The disarmingly modest Thierry Glantenay is emerging as one of the Côte de Beaune’s most exciting producers of red wine. From his hillside winery overlooking the Marquis d’Angerville’s Clos des Ducs, Glantenay is producing a lovely range of elegant, pure and intense Volnays and Pommards that are increasingly consistent and stylistically assured. In the cuverie, he tells me, he is more and more content to let temperature and alcohol do the work of extraction for him, keeping pigéage and rémontage to a minimum; pressing is gentle; and élevage, without racking until the mise en bouteille, takes place in at most 30% new barrels. In the cellar, no matter which barrel you choose, the wines taste reliably wonderful: indeed, after my first tasting with Glantenay, some years ago, I was compelled to return a week later to verify that I hadn’t been imagining things, and that so serious a producer could really be so little known. That his wines sometimes take longer to bounce back after bottling than those of his peers, therefore, surprises me. Glantenay neither fines nor filters, but might the mobile bottling line he uses for the mise perhaps do a gentler job? In any case, the quality is not in doubt, and after the superb vintages of 2015 and 2016, 2017 is a worthy successor, in a lighter, more supple register, certainly, but with plenty of flavor and personality, and at last, available in normal quantities.”

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (01/19)

“The 2017 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots is showing very well from bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of raspberries, wild berries, dark chocolate and burning embers. Medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, it’s supple and lively, framed by powdery tannins. This has developed nicely and will offer a broad drinking window. Drink: 2022-2045. 92 points

As I wrote last year, the disarmingly modest Thierry Glantenay produces a lovely range of elegant, pure and intense Volnays and Pommards at his hillside winery overlooking the Marquis d’Angerville’s Clos des Ducs. In the cuverie, he tells me, he is more and more content to let temperature and alcohol do the work of extraction for him, keeping pigéage and rémontage to a minimum. He also gently presses the grapes, and élevage, without racking until the mise en bouteille, takes place in at most 30% new barrels. His 2018s have turned out very well, delivering generous, textural wines that remain structurally refined and lively—wines that will drink well young but also age gracefully. This under-the-radar estate comes warmly recommended.”

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (02/20)

“Produced from purchased grapes, the 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots reveals aromas of plums and blackberries mingled with warm spices, smoke and peonies. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, with a layered core and succulent acids. This is a charming, inviting Santenots that will drink well young. 91-93 points

Alex and Benoit Moreau began their harvest on August 30, afraid of waiting too long given the warm conditions, and reported finished alcohols between 12.15% and 13.3%. This was a large crop for the domaine, even for its premiers crus and old vines: Chenevottes, for example, yielded fully 62 hetoliters per hectare, its most generous in 20 years. Most of the domaine’s white wine fermentations lasted into June-July 2019. As usual, I made Domaine Bernard Moreau one of my last stops during my time in Burgundy to catch the wines at their best, and the young 2018s showed superbly: it’s a more immediate vintage than 2017 but beautifully balanced. Indeed, it’s hard to think of a better address to which to direct readers looking to take a tour of some of Chassagne-Montrachet’s most interesting terroirs. I also revisited the superb 2017s in bottle, wines that number among the vintage’s finest.

What are the rudiments of this 14-hectare estate’s success? As I wrote last year, the domaine represents a loose division of labor between two brothers: Benoit, who concerns himself with the vineyards, and Alex, who oversees the cellar. In the vineyard, they use only organic fertilizers and no pesticides. In the cellar, Alex Moreau appreciates long fermentations and extended sur lie élevage without stirring, the wines finishing their maturation in stainless steel where they generally see a light fining. New oak, largely from François Frères, is judiciously chosen. Beautifully balanced and differentiated by site, these are some of the most compelling white Burgundies being made today, and I once again warmly recommend them to readers.”

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (01/20)