2023 Volnay Les Santenots

The 2023 Volnay Les Santenots 1er Cru contains more than one-third whole bunch. It has a well- defined nose, a little more tertiary in style, opening nicely with aeration with plenty of freshness. The palate is medium-bodied with finely-knit tannins, more red fruit compared to other cuvées with an elegant, understated finish. Maybe it is not quite as vin de garde as the Cave des Ducs. For the first time in 27 years visiting wineries around the world, I committed the cardinal sin and smashed a glass in front of Leroux. Is that a portent that 2025 will be an easier vintage than 2024? Maybe I was too excited about the wine? Anyway, I managed to taste nearly all of Leroux's comprehensive range of whites and reds. With just under 50 cuvées, it is a long yet insightful tasting across various appellations, Leroux always open with his opinions. The winery itself accommodates an impressive array of vessels. As well as regular pièces, there are 500-liter barrels, a fleet of foudres, a smattering of Clayver and two racks of WineGlobes. We discussed the latter, which are becoming increasingly popular, and he feels positive about their use, utilizing them partially in the second year of élevage to instill more purity. I asked Leroux about the 2023 growing season and, apart from some hail in Meursault, he quipped how they could have had two crops. “The biggest challenge was to control the yield,” he continues, “so we de-budded and conducted two green harvests. We started picking on August 30 and fortunately, we picked the early-ripening whites before the heat wave that had not been forecasted. We had been thinking of starting on September 4. We picked very quickly. Yields just top 50 hl/ha. The whites are resting on their lees in vat. Some [entry-level wines] have already been bottled, but most will be bottled next year.”