Volnay

This bottling comprises some old vine village Volnay blended with wines from three Premiers Crus, Mitans Carelles and Brouillards. Mid red with some attractive, quite savoury red fruit, this is still tightly knit at this stage, with just a little acidity, reasonable weight and good length.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Nicholas feels that the saving grace of the 2013 vintage was the amount of small berries caused by millerandage. He has opted for minimum extraction but longish cuvaison. The white wines have not been stirred because they were rich enough naturally. They are expected to be bottled in December and will all be under DIAM corks, apart from the Grands Crus. The reds will be bottled during February.

Bright, bubbling red with a lively raspberry fruit nose, this is an excellent, mouth-filling wine. It avoids the final firmness seen in some Volnays this year, offering instead some acidity hidden within the fruit. Very persistent.

Tasting with David Croix at Camille Giroud is always a pleasure, especially so this year as the range of 2014s is delicious. David feels that the wines are all about drinkability and balance rather than exceptional power. His theory is that the great start to the growing season kept the vines healthy through the cool, damp summer.

Concentrated purple with quite a weighty nose, the detail not yet defined. The palate is firm rather than tough, with the fruit showing through very nicely at the finish.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

From the well placed Gigotte and Famines vineyards, this is a fine, medium red-purple, brightly perfumed and very pretty. The wine has beautifully sensual fruit, heading towards the ethereal, with nice acidity, graceful red berries, alpine strawberry and good persistence. Drink 2020-2025.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

This family-run domaine, which dates back to 1692, is currently managed by Marc-Olivier, son of François, though still with help from his parents. The family had a very successful négociant 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 Chênes, 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.

Yields were around 25 hl/ha for his village appellations, less for the Premiers Crus. Marc-Olivier Buffet has restricted whole-bunch fermentation to 30 percent for most cuvées, avoiding previously more extreme forays in certain vintages, but retains his approach of a very light hand on extraction so as to enhance the ethereal side of Pinot Noir. He enthuses about 2015 for the balance of ripe tannins and good acidity.

The wine from this monopole displays Buffet’s usual bright but pale colour along with a classy, balanced nose. This is very pure and stylish with a lovely backbone, yet all with Volnay red-fruit elegance.

This is the third year in a row that the domaine has suffered serious hail damage, which was especially bad in Marc-Olivier’s village, Volnay, and all the Pommards (Rugiens apart). Because of the hail, he used much less in the way of whole-bunch vinification, just 20 percent on Taillepieds and Rugiens, and none at all on his other wines. As ever, his gentle handling of extraction has resulted in very pale colours by modern standards, but this in no way affects the concentration of his wines. There are very good results here in 2014.

This shows the red fruit crunch indicative of the 2014 vintage, as well as a sensual earthy character that’s pure Côte de Beaune. Fruit, tannins and oak are now beginning to harmonise into a very impressive whole, for drinking 2017 onwards.
Will Heslop - Buyer

The 2013 Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans has a slightly lean blackberry and undergrowth-scented bouquet that is nicely defined, but lacks a little vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chewy tannins, but there is good acidity here, and a pleasant iodine note toward the finish. It is just missing a little substance for a Mitans.
Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate. 30th December 2014. 

Pretty pink-red, with lovely elegant fruit on the nose and a really appealing mix of raspberry and strawberry. This is a Volnay drinker’s Volnay. Silky, rose petals and really very good finish.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Each time we have tasted Marc-Olivier Buffet’s 2013’s we have liked them more and more. His ‘softly softly’ approach to the vintage, with very little whole bunch fermentation and very light extraction has paid off. With skilled de-stemming he aimed for whole berries but not whole bunches in the vats.

‘Very Volnay’ in 2014, as this wine (from the lower part of the Lurets vineyard) tends to be. Mid-purple in colour, with a gorgeous nose of ripe red berries. The palate ripe but showing the refreshing crunch of the vintage. Long and impeccably balanced.

Pale pink-purple with a lightly perfumed nose; there is lovely structure to this without being firm. Indeed it is all about graceful Volnay fruit.

Michel and Frédéric found the hail even sadder in 2014, their third year of suffering in succession, because the vines looked in such great condition before the catastrophe of 28th June. They lost more than half the crop once again, but were able to harvest ripe and healthy grapes to make absolutely fantastic wines. They remind Michel of both 1966 and 1978, vintages “which are still beautiful and always were”.

Bright red in colour, with immediate deep red fruit aromatics, this has plenty of fruit and energy on the palate with a slightly firm finish which the fruit will grow through.

Paul Zinetti has replaced Benjamin Leroux as régisseur (general manager) at this famous estate. He has inherited a great position but also, alas, a tradition of hail-affected vintages. With this in mind, Paul has looked for lighter extraction in 2014, with less punching down than previously. He has been with the domaine for several years prior to taking over, so he is fully au fait with these vineyards. The village Auxey is a steal this year.

From the lower part of the Lurets vineyard. Despite the tardiness of the malolactic fermentation, the wine was open for tasting in October: dense dark red, crunchy fruit, very good energy, lovely fruit suffusing the finish. Very successful. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The 2013 vintage was another very difficult vintage to manage, with a heavily reduced crop after the hail, but unlike in 2012 Dominique has at least been able to make all his appellations. The wines were at a backward stage when tasted in October but with really exciting potential.

Glowing purple with a heady delicious nose, this displays really intense fruit in the domaine’s usual elegant register: noble raspberries, a nice touch of oak and an exceptionally long sensual finish. There was very little hail here, fortunately.

This is the third year in a row that the domaine has suffered serious hail damage, which was especially bad in Marc-Olivier’s village, Volnay, and all the Pommards (Rugiens apart). Because of the hail, he used much less in the way of whole-bunch vinification, just 20 percent on Taillepieds and Rugiens, and none at all on his other wines. As ever, his gentle handling of extraction has resulted in very pale colours by modern standards, but this in no way affects the concentration of his wines. There are very good results here in 2014.

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Angles comes from a 0.60-hectare parcel, the largest holding in the climat. The nose is very energetic and well defined – plenty of crisp, animated dark cherry and blueberry fruit here bounding about the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip in the mouth. There is good substance, underpinned by quite rigid tannins, but there is plenty of dark berry fruit on the finish to suggest this is a long-term Volnay.
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 30th Dec 2013

Made from 25-year-old vines but evidently from a great selection of Pinot plants. Mid purple with a brilliant nose, this is lively but rounded, with plump berry fruit, consistent with its 2012 brilliance. There is a lot of juicy energy here, absolutely heavenly. It has a magical, glossy feel. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

David Croix picked relatively late for his reds, from October 3rd to 16th, but he wisely took the whites in first from 29th September to 2nd October. Overall he has been able to source more wine than for the pitifully small 2012 crop. These are beautiful wines, a marvellous expression of Pinot Noir, suited for medium term keeping.

Glowing pale purple, with a heavenly hillside Volnay scent of vibrant cherry and raspberry fruit, this is really elegant, yet with a fine core of concentrated fruit. The grapes were healthy enough to allow a small percentage of whole bunches here.
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

Each time we have tasted Marc-Olivier Buffet’s 2013’s we have liked them more and more. His ‘softly softly’ approach to the vintage, with very little whole bunch fermentation and very light extraction has paid off. With skilled de-stemming he aimed for whole berries but not whole bunches in the vats.

The bouquet offers brilliant, pure fruit with real energy along with a floral note of violets and dark cherries. We love this cuvée, which happily escaped the hail. This is hugely satisfying on the palate, with a fabulous long finish.

“This is definitely the best vintage I have made in white,” says Benjamin. “The wines have great vineyard definition; I would just have loved to have made more. It is my style of vintage.” His reds, too, have gorgeous layers of ripe fruit, so 2014 is clearly a significant success all round for Benjamin.

Further cuvées are available from Benjamin and can be found at www.bbr. com/burgundy2014. Note – all the white wines will be bottled under top-quality screwcaps, StelvinLux Plus.

Showing a very pure Volnay nose, this is the parallel style to Monthélie. With greater density, lovely brisk raspberry notes and no invasive tannins in the way, it has a graceful finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Bouchard picked from 29th August to 10th September in 2011 and Philippe Prost, his head winemaker, thinks that there is a clear stylistic difference in 2011 between the up slope wines which are in a modern, fruit forward style, and the denser, more structured lower slope bottlings. Either way, the key was to avoid green tannins and to limit new oak: 20-25% for lesser Premier Crus, 30-50% for senior versions and a maximum 65% for Grand Cru of either colour.

---

Only one and a half barrels were made and this Volnay Taillepieds, 1er Cru has a good, bright colour and an energetic bouquet of rich red fruit, supported by new wood. This is notably weighty in 2012, even a touch austere, but the concentration is unquestionably there.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

We have bought wines from this domaine in previous vintages, but this is the first year that they are appearing in the Opening Offer. Marc-Olivier Buffet, son of François, is the man in charge. He has a superb range of Premiers Crus in Volnay and Pommard, and though he managed to make them all in 2012, volumes are minute: below 10 hl/ha. He did not use many stems in 2012 and such is the concentration of the wines that he will give them a longer barrel maturation than usual. Beautiful wines with great aromatics, and keen pricing to boot