2012 La Pousse d'Or Les Caillerets Volnay 1er Cru

Bright medium ruby. Liqueur-like black and blue fruit aromas complicated by violet and game. Very ripe and plush, with flavors of blackberry, licorice and bitter chocolate. Finishes thick and long, with serious, slightly edgy tannins, a restrained sweetness and a hint of pastry. Just enough verve here to support the wine's full ripeness.

Dark plums, spices, smoke and menthol are some of the many nuances that emerge from Pousse d'Or's 2012 Volnay En Caillerets. This is a distinctly dark style of Caillerets that is deeply marked by the signature low yields of the year. There is considerable intensity in the glass, but my fear is that the wine is so concentrated that some of the terroir signatures are masked by the sheer richness of the fruit.

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru En Cailleret was the last cuvee to complete its malolactic fermentation, three weeks before I visited. It comes from east-facing vines most planted in 1976. The nose is a little difficult to discern at this early stage: stubborn and refusing to come out and play. However the palate is lively with marmalade-tinged black fruit and a succulent, energetic finish that exerts a gentle grip. It does not quite have the vivacity of the best Cailleret that I have tasted, but it remains a very satisfactory wine. Domaine de la Pousse d'Or is one of the most picturesque estates in Burgundy, perched imperiously on the southern flank of Volnay village. With his hounds encircling his legs, I met with Patrick Landanger who became proprietor back in 1997 due to the untimely passed of Gerard Potel. His intentions of becoming a silent shareholder were changed and having acquired the remaining shares from the Potel family, found himself the sole proprietor. He got the bit between his teeth, expanding the domaine's holdings up unto Corton and down into Puligny, converting the vineyard to organic viticulture with an eye on biodynamics. We tasted the wines in his multi-tiered cuverie as assembled blend taken directly from vat. Patrick was keen to stress his dedication to sorting, first via a vibrating table, then a second by eye and hand, then electronically. The result is very pure fruit that fortunately is not taken to the extreme so that it erases the nuances of each terroir. Moreover, I appreciate the prudent use of new oak here. This is another estate, like Marquis d'Angerville, that has a ceteris paribus approach i.e. it is maintained at 30% so that those nuances of terroir can be observed without being skewed by the level of wood. There have been occasions, most notably apropos the 2009 vintage, where I felt that there was a touch of over-ripeness evident in the wines. In 2012 I only discerned one cuvee that exhibited similar traits, the Bonnes-Mares, which came across rather ostentatious compared to the far more refined Clos-de-la-Roche. Otherwise, these 2012s from La Pousse d'Or are worth seeking out. Importers: North Berkeley Wine, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 336-9880; a Peter Vezan Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011 33 1 42 55 42 93