From a site abutting Clos des Mouches of which – according to Glantenay – there are but four proprietors, his 2008 Pommard Saussilles comes from vines whose age his grandfather claims was already too old to know when he bought them in the ‘60s. There is no conceivable way to describe the dominant characteristics of this wine other than as “mineral” and “carnal.” Imagine beef bouillon with an extra cube and suffused with peat, iron filings, Szechuan peppers, chalk dust, and forest floor detritus, all mingled with concentrated, fresh ripe blackberries and mulberries. A shot of this would be an eye-, nose-, and palate opener even at breakfast hour. Abundant tannins are fine-grained and well-integrated, but there is no getting around a tart, raw-berry intensity and earthy minerality that won’t be every wine lover’s cup of wild, vibrant Pinot. Personally, I’m ready to invest in some with 12-15 year expectations of further fascination and stimulation. 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

The Glantenay 2007 Pommard Saussilles (for more about whose source consult my note on the 2008) displays ripe, forward cassis and blackberry fruit with bittersweet medicinal herbal and dark chocolate accents; a polished texture; and a finish with satisfying persistence of primary berry-juiciness as well as chalk and peat notes adding to the herbal and chocolate complexities. I suspect that this will remain delightful for at least 5-7 years. 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