The 2019 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots was the last wine in the cellar to finish its malolactic fermentation, and its bouquet of smoky blackberries and cherries was still comparatively unformed. Medium to full-bodied, layered and lively, its bright acids and powdery tannins mark it out as a particular success this year.

One of the more structured cuvées in the cellar is the 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots, a broad-shouldered wine that offers up aromas of ripe plums, raspberries, orange rind and warm spices. It has a medium to full-bodied and ripe but lively palate, its fleshy core of fruit framed by youthfully chewy tannins. This will require some patience, but it's promising.

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.

The 2016 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots, which is completely destemmed, has a clean and precise bouquet with scents of blackcurrant pastilles, crushed violet and wet limestone aromas that feel harmonious. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, well-judged acidity, almost Pommard-like terseness at first but then the final third offers genuine energy and tension with a welcome pinch of white pepper right on the finish. Excellent—this may even surpass the 2015.