2008 Volnay Champans

The de Montilles 2008 Volnay Les Champans received only one-third whole clusters and stems because the site had been hit by hail, and judging from the results I suspect it might have been better to have entirely de-stemmed it. There is a persistently drying astringency, although fresh cherry; subtle mushroom typical for this cru; and satisfying meatiness all add interest, and there is plenty of primary, tart juiciness to the finish. I would sin on the side of safety and plan on drinking this within the next 3-4 years. Etienne de Montille related having taken great pains in early September, 2008 to stave-off encroaching rot and promote ripeness, and felt that his rigorous leaf-pulling and crop-thinning – not to mention eventual triage – paid off sufficiently that he could vinify a substantial portion of the 2008 crop in his preferred manner, utilizing a high proportion of stems and whole clusters (100% in the case of this year’s grand crus and top premier crus). Those wines for which a point spread is indicated were all last tasted shortly before their early spring bottling as finished assemblages in tank – whence they had been racked at the end of 2009 because de Montille did not think their fruit density or lees quality would have supported longer barrel-elevage. (Despite my longstanding predilection for de Montille and his wines, I regret to report that time and circumstance conspired to keep me from tasting his 2007s.) Various importers, including Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040; also, a Thomas Calder Selection, Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29