From a parcel of 70 year old vines and one younger, Glantenay’s 2008 Volnay Clos de Chenes illustrates his comment (echoed by other Meursault and Volnay growers) that hail had the least effect on those embryonic bunches that were already riddled with millerandage, which – he reports – included those on the selection massale vines. Stewed black fruits, cooked ginger, and cocoa powder lend this a very different cast from the fresh tartness that prevails on most 2008s including the rest of Glantenay’s collection. Alkaline and chalky mineral sensations segue into mouth-coating but not rustic tannins on a firm, intensely flavorful palate, leading to a long, low-toned finish. I suspect this will be worth following for a decade or more, but like so many of its vintage – especially those from hail-afflicted sites – it bears close monitoring along the way. Young Thierry Glantenay – whom I met for the first time this March – has the luck to have inherited old vines acquired or planted by his grandfather in some of the most prestigious sites of Volnay, Pommard, and Puligny, and is applying to them evident care and intelligence, given which facts it isn’t surprising – even though it was news to me – that his cellar is a superb source of Burgundy. Glantenay’s finished 2008s are in the low-13s of alcoholic percentage, having for the most part been boosted by one-half to one degree. All of them were in tank when I tasted, and none were due to be filtered at bottling, although the village Volnay, Caillerets, and Rugiens had been lightly “pre-filtered” to deal with what Glantenay deemed excess turbidity. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville , PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

From a parcel of 70 year old vines and one younger, Glantenay’s 2008 Volnay Clos de Chenes illustrates his comment (echoed by other Meursault and Volnay growers) that hail had the least effect on those embryonic bunches that were already riddled with millerandage, which – he reports – included those on the selection massale vines. Stewed black fruits, cooked ginger, and cocoa powder lend this a very different cast from the fresh tartness that prevails on most 2008s including the rest of Glantenay’s collection. Alkaline and chalky mineral sensations segue into mouth-coating but not rustic tannins on a firm, intensely flavorful palate, leading to a long, low-toned finish. I suspect this will be worth following for a decade or more, but like so many of its vintage – especially those from hail-afflicted sites – it bears close monitoring along the way. Young Thierry Glantenay – whom I met for the first time this March – has the luck to have inherited old vines acquired or planted by his grandfather in some of the most prestigious sites of Volnay, Pommard, and Puligny, and is applying to them evident care and intelligence, given which facts it isn’t surprising – even though it was news to me – that his cellar is a superb source of Burgundy. Glantenay’s finished 2008s are in the low-13s of alcoholic percentage, having for the most part been boosted by one-half to one degree. All of them were in tank when I tasted, and none were due to be filtered at bottling, although the village Volnay, Caillerets, and Rugiens had been lightly “pre-filtered” to deal with what Glantenay deemed excess turbidity.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville , PA; tel. (610) 486-0800