Bernard & Thierry Glantenay Volnay 2019

“Offering up aromas of wild berries, spices, raw cocoa and dried petals, Glantenay’s 2019 Volnay Village is medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with lively acids and a long, nicely perfumed finish. As usual, this includes two small premier cru parcels in Les Lurets and En l’Ormeau that Glantenay doesn’t vinify separately and which represent around 20% of the cuvée. 89-91 points

Thierry Glantenay is one of the humblest, most discreet winemakers I visited in Burgundy, but that shouldn’t lead anyone to underestimate the quality of his wines, or the incremental but meaningful progress he makes every year. 2020’s initiative was to end roganage (trimming the vines) by tractor: instead, Thierry now trims by hand, with shears, letting the canopies grow higher in emulation of his upstairs neighbor in Les Rugiens, Thomas Bouley. As I wrote last year, Glantenay prefers to let temperature and alcohol do the work of extraction for him, keeping pigéage and rémontage to a minimum. He presses gently, and élevage, without racking until the mise en bouteille, takes place in at most 30% new barrels. I’d nominate these 2019s as Glantenay’s finest vintage since 2015, and they are very promising wines that still carry a much more modest tariff than a number of producers who don’t work as well in the vineyards or the cellar.“

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (01/21)