The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Santenots comes from 30-year old vines just below Jacques Prieur in “Santenots Bas” and is always the first to be picked. There is plenty of precocious fruit here to be enjoyed: Morello and redcurrant to the fore, whilst the palate is supple in the mouth, erring towards darker fruit towards the finish with a balsamic seam. This is very fine and should age nicely over several years. Volnay might not have a grand cru to its name, but there are some new growers appearing who are really raising the Cote de Beaune’s finest red wine appellation to a new level. Thierry Glantenay’s winery is perched just above Volnay, just further up from Marquis d’Angerville, his house offering a panoramic view over towards the Alps on a clear day. Thierry’s father Bernard Glantenay retired in 2005 after four vintages working together. Bernard could see at first hand the arduous, unglamorous life of a vigneron and so he chose to train as a chemical engineer before being bitten by the wine bug at the age of 26. He has stamped his own ideas onto the running of the domaine, ceasing the use of herbicides and adopting a lutte raisonee approach. Whilst Thierry said that he does apply organic products, he is not averse to using chemicals when the crop is threatened. He farms around 7-hectares of vines spread over three village appellations with a solitary white: a plot in Les Folatieres acquired by his grandfather Louis in 1979. Alas, Louis passed away the following spring and so never saw a single wine from what in hindsight was an astute decision. “We started the harvest on 22 September in Volnay Santenots, which is always the first to be picked,” Thierry explained. “We were affected by the very difficult growing season and the average yield is 15 hectoliters per hectare. I have not bought any new barrels so there is no new oak in this vintage. We’ll rack the following week and blend the barrels, probably bottling next February or March. We had no Volnay Cailleret in 2012 due to hail damage and what survived was blended into the village cru.” I found much to admire in this domaine: purity of fruit, fineness of tannins, terroir expression and plenty of flavor. Thierry comes across as a thoughtful, perhaps rather self-effacing vigneron, which all the best ones are. As you would expect, it is his Volnay premier crus where most of the excitement is to be found, although do not overlook some of the best Pommards that I encountered with respect to 2012. There is just one solitary white wine from the domaine since the Bourgogne Aligote is sold off to negociants. Importer: Peter Weygandt, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800 and Raeburn Fine Wines (UK)