2012 Volnay Santenots du Milieu

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots-du-Milieu from Arnaud Ente has a very distinctive, tertiary and damp undergrowth-scented bouquet that implies considerable stem addition. It does not possess the complexity of the Clos des Chênes from Château de Meursault and evolves a more Pommard set of aromatics rather than Volnaysian. The palate is superb! Medium-bodied, anachronistic in style with stems seeming to "float" around the rustic red fruit, but stepping back, you have to appreciate the balance and personality here; the effortlessness of this Volnay that should give pleasure over the next decade.