Our tasting impressions
Dare I say the 2023 Volnay might just be the best I have encountered of this limited production wine? Yes, I think I dare! It’s round and has such sweet red fruit but it’s also so fresh and vibrant. Based on this and the 2022, I’m starting to think I prefer the Guiton Volnay in riper, richer vintages. In leaner years, it can be rather fierce in its youth and it out toughs and out tannins even his Pommard. This is a truly excellent Volnay that might be hard to lay down long enough to appreciate its full and ultimate charms.
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
2023 was the most abundant crop since the legendary 1999. Fluctuating spring temperatures delayed bud break until after the frost threats. Otherwise, the prevailing condition was heat - lots of it! Producers who care more about quality than quantity, did green harvest and we able to achieve concentrated wines. So, in such hands, 2023 is again like 1999 - combining lots of super wine.
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. He is always in the vineyards, farming in an organic manner. 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.
