2006 Volnay Santenots

The well-concentrated 2006 Volnay Santenots of the Domaine du Pavillon Is redolent smoke-wreathed ripe black cherry and grenadine; shows admirable density and a faintly, pleasantly bitter chew of fruit skin that accrued to other Bichot Cote de Beaune reds of the vintage; and finishes with satisfying grip and length, its fresh fruit underlain by fine-grained tannins and a suggestion of wet stone. I would expect this to be best enjoyed over the next 3-4 years. It avoids the combination of stewed yet marginally ripe fruit that – despite their often admirable density –characterized a number of the Bichot 2006s. The Albert Bichot firm incorporates no fewer than four separate domaines – the venerable Long-Depaquit in Chablis (about which, consult my reports in issues 186 and 179); Nuits-St.-Georges-based Domaine du Clos Frantin; Pommard-based Domaine du Pavillon; and the much smaller Domaine Adelie in Mercurey – each of which has its own press house, those in the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits also processing purchased grapes. Alberic Bichot is articulate and enthusiastic when it comes to expounding his company's qualitative ambitions and the results showed amid the subset of both white and red wines I tasted, which, incidentally, are all matured in 350- rather than 225-liter barrels. Numerous importers, including Atherton Wine Imports, Menlo Park, CA, tel. (650) 328-6639 and Bayfield Importing, Long Island, NY (718) 482-0200