Without Volnay, there is simply no joy,’ declared historian Claude Courtépée in his 18th-century work on the Duchy of Burgundy. The delights of the wine from this village have been known since before the dukes constructed their château there in the 11th century, while today’s wine lovers are discovering them again thanks to the able work of a new generation of winemakers.
While generational change is always occurring, it seems there are currently an unusually high number of fresh faces in Volnay, including the young winemakers Clément Boillot, Pierrick Bouley, Thomas Bouley, Marc-Olivier Buffet, Thibaud Clerget and Maxime Dubuet-Boillot. To this, one should add Clothilde Lafarge, although father and mother Frédéric and Chantal are still very much involved in the family domaine.
Domaine Lafarge is in some ways the link between the old Volnay and the new; it is among the great classics of the village, along with Domaine Marquis d’Angerville. The d’Angerville style is elegant and classic, perhaps the best of the slightly reserved ‘traditional’ style. Lafarge, by contrast, is certified organic and biodynamic, and the wines have more of a lush, sensual appeal: the Dionysus to d’Angerville’s Apollo.
Before the current youthful crop, the most recent talent to emerge had been Nicolas Rossignol (now based in Beaune), who makes an array of Volnays in a full-bodied, concentrated style using a judicious proportion of whole bunches. Into this landscape have come a variety of new voices, each of whom brings their own perspective to the delicious wines of this village.
BENCHMARK BEAUNE
Volnay is a compact, tidy village, with premier cru vineyards on either side of the D973 road that passes just below it, and village-level vines at the top of the slope and at its base, as well as vines producing Bourgogne Pinot Noir (and Passetoutgrain) to the east of the main road.
The premiers crus fall into several distinct groups. Perhaps the best come from the roughly rectangular
