Volnay

The wine

Five kilometres south-west of Beaune, between Pommard and Meursault, Volnay unfolds across two hundred and forty-two hectares, nearly half of them classified as Premiers Crus — Les Caillerets, Champans, Clos des Chênes, and Les Angles have held first-rank status since the nineteenth century. The appellation, granted AOC by the decree of September 9, 1937, is devoted to Pinot Noir, whose famously small tight clusters cling to the Argovian and Bathonian clay-limestone soils. Burgundian tradition calls Volnay wines 'feminine': pale ruby, with tart cherry and redcurrant aromas in youth that drift towards gentle spice and game with age. Depending on the vintage, some cuvées need ten to twenty years to reach their peak. Served at sixteen degrees, a Volnay flourishes alongside roast poultry, duck with cherries, or a pressed cheese such as young Époisses.