Our tasting impressions
Compared to the lovely 2021, this vintage of Volnay offers sweeter, richer fruit. It's a bigger wine in every respect but it is beautifully balanced by brilliant tension. In all, you almost don't recognize the tannins even if they take charge on the long finish. It oozes charm and the drop dead gorgeous fruit really accentuates its Volnayness. Very limited.
About this wine
This lieu-dit (a single vineyard village wine) of Pinot Noir sits near the southeast corner of Volnay. The exposure is southeast and the soil is rusty limestone and clay. The vines were planted in 1946 and 1986. Harvesting is by hand.
Fermentation takes 15-20 days with maceration (cold to start), including pigéage (punching down the cap). The wine ages in oak barrels (15% new) for 15-18 months. A light filtration is done before bottling if necessary. Only 1,800 bottles are produced each year.
About the grape
Pinot Noir is an ancient grape from eastern France. Notoriously challenging, it thrives in cooler climates. The concept of terroir is most closely identified with Burgundy because the lightness of Pinot Noir enables it to so transparently express minor differences (which is why experienced tasters can discern the difference in wines produced from vineyards in very close proximity). Intense popularity resulted in plantings all over the world but most agree that its finest expression is in the Côte d’Or of Burgundy.
About the vintage
The Burgundians really seem to be figuring out this global warming business. 2022 was the second hottest year on record and was abundantly sunny during the growing season. The vintage was prolific - offering an abundance of ripe and well-balanced fruit.
Guillaume Guiton is a fiercely dedicated and extraordinary vigneron and a super nice guy. In the grand scheme of Burgundy, his vineyards would be considered modest...his wines, we consider, anything but.
He has been running this 11.5 hectare Domaine since 2002. His father Jean started it in 1973. Very much a hybrid estate, Guillaume owns 4ha, rents the rest and even buys grapes in his pursuit of the best he can get. He produces about 50,000 bottles per year.
He is a devoted terroirista, who welcomes the opportunity not to intervene in what nature offers. His methods vary based on vintage circumstances but he usually de-stems his red grapes and mostly avoids fining and filtration.
Guillaume is an intense student of barrels. He raises many wines in a variety of barrels before blending, only uses them for 6 years and never employs more than 20% new oak.
