2023 Volnay Clos de la Barre Monopole

The 2023 Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre Monopole (Maison Louis Jadot) has turned out nicely, delivering notes of raspberries, orange zest and spices, followed by a medium-bodied, ample and fleshy palate animated by succulent acids. Winemaker Frédéric Barnier and his team have once again delivered a strong portfolio chez Jadot. Barnier stressed the importance of sorting and of vigilance during élevage, in particular where acid rot made an appearance, and he didn't hesitate to perform a saignée for cuvées where yields where high. As I've written before, in the cellar, foudres and 500-liter barrels now complement classic 228-liter pièces, a further evolution adapting to warmer, riper vintages. What's more, barrels are now used four rather than three times, meaning the percentage of new oak overall has fallen. A cold room also helps chill down any fruit that's too warm when it enters the winery, something especially important during the warm 2023 harvest. This vintage also marks the third vintage of organic conversion for the Domaine Louis Jadot and the Domaine Gagey.

The 2023 Volnay Clos de la Barre 1er Cru has more nuance and refinement on the nose compared to the Volnay Santenot: it is well focused with mineral-driven red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, poised though not powerful per se, with a finish that just seems to "glide." This is a quite delicious Volnay in prospect and probably the best of the trio. As tradition dictates, I undertook a comprehensive tasting of around 100 wines from Louis Jadot at the winery in Beaune, divided into two sessions for the white and red. Readers should note that I interviewed head winemaker Frédéric Barnier. "The wines are 0.5% higher in alcohol in 2023 than 2022, but with exactly the same level of acidity," he adds, after I had filmed the video. "Everything from our own vineyards was around 13.5% while some fruit that we bought was over 14%. Many of the vines resisted excessive sugar accumulation. We introduced foudres so there is less oxygen whilst using the same level of SO2. The challenge was the purity of both the reds and the whites. The fermentation was not so easy for the latter, and we stopped the malolactic a little earlier. There is 0.8gm/L malic acid on 2022 and 1.1gm/L in 2023. There is 0.5% more alcohol but with the same acidity as the 2022."

The 2023 Volnay Clos de la Barre 1er Cru has more nuance and refinement on the nose compared to the Volnay Santenot: it is well focused with mineral-driven red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, poised though not powerful per se, with a finish that just seems to "glide." This is a quite delicious Volnay in prospect and probably the best of the trio.