Volnay AOC 2020

A Pinot Noir of silky texture that draws its effect not from volume: sour cherry and violet define the picture, the tannin stays fine-grained, the wine dry. The 14.5% ABV stays in the background.

Volnay lies on the Côte de Beaune between Pommard and Meursault and is Pinot Noir country; the appellation produces wines that convince through finesse rather than power. Thomas Bouley joined his father Jean-Marc in 2002 at the age of twenty. Eight hectares are now spread across 29 plots in Volnay, Pommard and Beaune, and the work there is so fragmented that one team member sometimes tends just a few hectares. Winter cover crops keep erosion in check, summer growth regulates moisture.

Pure Pinot Noir, spontaneously fermented, with whole clusters in the fermentation vat. Ageing lasts 15 to 20 months in oak barrels depending on the vintage, with the share of new barrels staying below 50%. Fining and filtration are the exception.

The sour cherry carries the wine from start to finish, the oak reads as a frame, not as a flavour. A wine with energy, giving pleasure young while rewarding years in the bottle.

Organic farming without certification, biodynamic influences without dogma: synthetic treatments and herbicides have been ruled out since Thomas Bouley joined the estate; he deliberately forgoes organic certification but documents the practice with an honour seal. Cosmic rhythms inform pruning and bottling. Yields are kept low, the share of manual work high. Bottled at Domaine Thomas Bouley in Volnay.