2016 Volnay, Clos des Chênes, 1er Cru, Domaine Potinet-Ampeau, Burgundy

Domaine Potinet-Ampeau

Domaine Potinet-Ampeau is located in the village of Monthelie in the Côte de Beaune region of Burgundy. The domaine is currently run by Vincent Durrieu, who is the fourth generation to work on the estate.
 
The domaine has holdings of 21.5 acres across Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault, Auxey-Duresses, Volnay, Pommard and Monthelie, with several plots of Premier Cru, and these produce an equal amount of red and white wine. The grapes are harvested predominantly by hand, and all vinification takes place inside the domaine’s cellars.
 
Wines are matured in Allier oak barrels, with the percentage of new oak around 30% per year.

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.