2020 Volnay, Domaine François Buffet, Burgundy
Critics reviews
Pretty pink purple, not too deep, actually quite elegant with strawberry and raspberry, so I was surprised with that flavour profile to hear that there was no whole bunch vinification. A pretty and pleasing wine.
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (January 2022)
An elegant and strikingly fresh nose speaks of the essence of spicy red berries and discreet floral elements. The equally pure medium-weight flavours are caressing and lacy while retaining a very good punch on the lilting, focused, chiselled finale. This is lovely and very Volnay in character.
Drink from 2026 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (April 2022)
The 2020 Volnay Village comes from two climats and is 100% de-stemmed. Tightly wound on the nose, it offers cranberry and raspberry aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, slightly candied in personality with a pastille-like purity on the finish. Very fine.
Drink 2024 - 2034
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (October 2021)
About this WINE
Domaine Francois Buffet
Domaine François Buffet is a Burgundy family-run domaine, which dates back to 1692, and is currently managed by Marc-Olivier, son of François, though still with help from his parents. The family had a very successful negociant business, under the name Ferdinand Buffet, until the 1930s when fortunes were lost in the great crash. Even so, there is an impressive range of Volnay (Taillepieds, Clos des Chenes, Champans, Carelles, Clos de la Rougeotte) and Pommard (Rugiens, Clos Micot, Poutures) vineyards.
Marc-Olivier uses some whole bunches when he feels the vineyard is suitable, though not for young vines. The wines are matured in barrel over 22 months, with one racking in the summer.
Volnay
The finest and most elegant red wines of the Côte de Beaune are grown in Volnay, a village which might be twinned with Chambolle- Musigny in the Côte de Nuits, for the high active chalk content in the soil and comparatively low clay content.
Whereas in earlier times Volnay was made in a particularly light, early drinking style, these days there are many producers making wines which age extremely well. The best vineyards run either side of the RN73 trunk road.- 98 hectares of village Volnay
- 115 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards (35 in all). The finest include Les Taillepieds, Clos des Chênes, Champans, Caillerets (including Clos des 60 Ouvrées) and Santenots in Meursault.
- Recommended producers: Lafarge, Lafon, de Montille
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.
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Description
This comes from the lower Les Famines vineyard and La Gigotte, which sits just above it. Everything here is destemmed. Delicacy runs through the wine, which is fresh, light and pure. The low yield has ensured ripe tannins. Marc-Olivier compares it to 2018 in ripeness terms, but with a much fresher edge. This is both straightforward and delicious.
Drink 2022 - 2027
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