Often it seems that vintages adjoining highly rated vintages can be under-rated. As an example the always delightful 1989 & impressive 1991 red Burgundy still stand in the shadows of the more full-bodied 1990. Also the case in Bordeaux where the triple zero 2000 tended to have the wine consumer ignore the years on either side of it – the pleasurable 1999 & 2001 vintages. A dinner at Boulevard in Vancouver on November 8 explored these two years with several excellent properties shining brightly. A few brief details provided by your scribe:

An Aperitif of 2012 Laurent Perrier Champagne got the evening off to a good start with equal portions of highly rated vineyards chardonnay & pinot noir contributing to the flowery lively elegant bubbles from a top vintage. The next course was a duo of foie gras brilliantly paired with three Sauternes 2001:

2001 CHATEAU LAFAURIE-PEYRAGUEY
2001 CHATEAU SUDUIRAUT
2001 CHATEAU GUIRAUD

As we now realize that 2001 is a sensational vintage for Sauternes showing wonderful botrytis with vibrant acidity to balance the sweetness. All three showed very differently with L-P disappointing with a very dark look and lack of freshness in the taste. Bad bottle? Suduiraut was the clear winner with classic bright balanced pineapple full fruit and long complexity. Wow! The Guiraud also was very lovely evolving with higher Sauvignon Blanc in the mix to a charming delicious pairing with the foie gras. Super endorsement for 2001.

1999 CHATEAU KIRWAN (MARGAUX)
1999 CHATEAU PAVIE (ST. EMILION)
1999 CHATEAU LA MISSION HAUT-BRION (PESSAC-LEOGNAN)

First flight of reds quite diverse showing some of the difficult weather conditions and very rainy September affecting the weight of the wines but severe selection resulting in rather fine Grand Vin bottle results. Kirwan is more modern with fuller rustic fruit than earlier decades but lacking some Margaux “charming finesse”. Last decade vintages showing much improvement. Pavie under Perse ownership starting with the controversial first concentrated 1998 vintage. Wonderful aromatics and intense textured fruit perhaps even helped in the elegance factor by the lighter style of the year. Lovely. Liked the classy precise terroir statement of LMHB displaying well the best attributes of the more delicate year. Excellent matching with the earthy pasta course!

2001 CHATEAU LE BON PASTEUR (POMEROL)
2001 CHATEAU CLOS L’EGLISE (POMEROL)
2001 CHATEAU CANON LA GAFFELIERE (ST. EMILION)
2001 CHATEAU PALMER (MARGAUX)

Four excellent examples of the under-rated 2001 – even if not at the very top level of Sauternes. Two Pomerols with Michel Rolland connections show seductive lower acidity simpler LBP against stunning bouquet of Clos L’Eglise with a rich full silky palate. Amazing concentration for 2001 and can give 2000 (if not 1998) a competitive run. CLG solid layered softer approachable St. Emilion styling is a nice match for the duck breast. Palmer from Left Bank is so elegant but subtle with sweet complex fruit that is improved in weight and balanced texture from earlier tastings of it. Surprise of the night. Finished up with fresh firm tannins of 1983 Graham Vintage Port in Magnum! Lots of signature full riper jam of Graham style but personally prefer presently the sublime 1966 and lovely 1977. No rush for 1983 in this format.

Question: What is coulure?

Answer: Sometimes referred to as “shatter” coulure is a vineyard situation where usually because of rainy cool weather all the flowers are not pollinated resulting in uneven grape set in the bunches with lower yields.

During this continuing Covid pandemic the IWFS Vancouver Branch under the wonderful leadership of Jim & Milena Robertson and their team have done an excellent job of keeping the members together with regular interesting events. Another successful one was held on October 18, 2022 at the celebrated restaurant of Chef’s Choice Chinese Cuisine with talented Chef Tommy Pang and conscientious service manager James Law. Amazingly tasty culinary dishes smartly matched with good value wine choices from IWFS cellar. Well done.

The Menu:

Peanuts & Tea Perfectly Brewed then decanted into warming containers
Shrimp Toast & Crispy Crab Claw
Fresh Steamed Scallop in the Shell
Whole Roasted Suckling Pig – special treat!
Sauteed Fish with Seasonal Vegetables
Roast Chicken Signature Dish on Sticky Rice – always outstanding!
Stir Fried Taiwanese Cauliflower with Garlic
Taro & Mango Mochi

The Wines:

NV Segura Viudas Reserva: This Spanish Cava Metodo Tradicional with 9,4 g/l sugar has fresh orchard fruits working suitably with Chinese cuisine.

2020 L’Altro “Pio” Chardonnay Langhe DOC: L’Altro means “the other” Chardonnay (touch of Sauvignon Blanc) from family vineyards combining 75% Stainless & 25% new French oak for a versatile with food white wine.

2020 Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc Ken Forrester Vineyards: Big fan every vintage of this hand harvested carefully selected Chenin fermented in both tank & barrel achieving harmonious balance with
intriguing dried apricots.

2020 Sancerre La Mercy-Dieu Domaine Bailly-Reverdy: Blended Sauvignon Blanc from three soil types of flint, marl, and limestone pebbles providing open aromatics and freshness. Refreshing.

2015 Chateau De France Grand Bordeaux Blanc Pessac-Leognan: Thomassin family delivers an aged barrel fermented 80% Sauvignon & 20% Semillon blend with rich spicy notes that pair well with the dishes..

2019 Bourgogne Rouge Pinot Noir Justin Girardin: Current very good value French pinot noir from older vines in southern regions helped to ripen by climate change and emphasizing the pure fruit using 50% tank & 50% all previously used Allier & Vosges barrels for 15 months.

Question: Why are winemakers using more used oak barrels instead of new ones?

Answer: Many reasons possible. The current winemaking trend seems to be towards showing more fruit & distinctive terroir from the vineyard in your wine and less prominent intense oak from new barrels. Also larger size casks are in increased use for the same reason resulting in more wine to oak ratio. Also remember that new oak is very expensive so there is a cost saving issue as well in using less new. Actually after the new oak barrels have been used a few times they are called “neutral” retaining the advantage of allowing some oxygen exchange with the wine for texture but without any intrusive new oak flavours. Still you always have some top properties with concentrated powerful fruit using 100% new oak in those best vintages. Lots of other choices these days including stainless steel, concrete, amphora, etc. Interesting to monitor the difference in your tasting perceptions because of the amount of new oak barrels used in the winery.

Our Group of Eight Vancouver met for Event #105 featuring 9 Premier Cru wines from Volnay with a dinner on October 25, 2022 at Blue Water. Many of these previous special educational wine tasting-dinners have been documented over the years on this Blog. Also earlier references to Volnay including on October 26, 2015 here spotlighting the wines of top producer Marquis D’Angerville. At that time your scribe stated Volnay “epitomizes what I really admire in a pinot noir showing that seductive signature of fragrant delicate elegance. In my opinion the Volnay region still remains undervalued for the quality generally delivered.” That was a strong opinion expressed then that remains true today some 7 years later as confirmed by this tasting. Volnay is rather a small AC with the fuller Pommard on one side and vineyards of Monthelie & Meursault on the other. Like in Beaune & Pommard there are lots of Premier Cru vineyards but no Grand Cru. However the overall quality is high as shown by the fact 35 Premier Cru Volnay red cover 136.28 hectares more than the improving Village red Volnay at just under 100 (98.37). Some brief impressions:

Worth mentioning is the high quality though rather unknown old (1894) house Pascal Agrapart Champagne. From the classic 2012 vintage en bouteille May 2013 and disgorged February 2019 as Extra Brut (3 g/l dosage) it has choice upslope old Avize vineyards (Robarts & Gros Yeux) with deeper clay over chalk resulting in a powerful Avizoise Blanc de Blancs vinified and aged in 600 litre oak (demi-muids) that impresses so fresh, delicate, and complex. Highly recommended.

1) 2015 VOLNAY CLOS DE LA BARRE 1er Cru LOUIS JADOT This Monopole 1.32 hectare good drainage plot usually has structure with deep fruit but can be rather austere early on though 2015 is a riper vintage. Approachable.

2) 2009 VOLNAY LES SANTENOTS 1er Cru DOMAINE BERNARD & THIERRY GLANTENAY Also a hot vintage but small production of big ripe red fruits in an earthier spice style from a respected for aging south facing vineyard (but younger vines planted 1989 & 1997) actually in the Meursault commune. Simpler.

3) 2005 VOLNAY CLOS DE LA BARRE 1er Cru LOUIS JADOT A third ripe vintage in the first flight but a solidly balanced one with developing velvet textures. Patience rewarded but already delicious with Spaghetti Alio e Olio with Black Truffle.

4) 2017 VOLNAY LES CAILLERETS 1er Cru DOMAINE HENRI BOILLOT Youngest wine from a vineyard usually producing less fullness but lovely in combining fresh deep cherry & raspberry fruit with textbook delicate classy Volnay style. Structured, vibrant, impressive and the surprise of the night!

5) 2007 VOLNAY “SANTENOTS” LUCIEN LE MOINE Deep but ponderous. Reductive. Needed longer decanting? A bit cloudy. Not singing. Variable vintage with terrible Summer weather.

6) 2005 VOLNAY CAILLERETS 1er Cru ANCIENNE CUVEE CARNOT BOUCHARD Slightly smoky nose at first but cleared to sweet charming intensity -another impressive structured 2005 starting long plateau of lovely enjoyment.

7) 2005 VOLNAY CHEVRET 1er Cru DOMAINE NICOLAS ROSSIGNOL Third flight all have concentration with aromatic depth resulting from great vintages. This is slightly drier on the nose but still lots of generous fruit there with silky textures developing. Now or later. More dimensions with the spiced juicy flavours of the well-matched Pheasant course

8) 1999 VOLNAY-CHAMPANS 1er Cru LEROY A great expensive producer but those 1999 red Burgundy are always stellar. Rich fat plummy weightier style of Champans. Very impressive result indeed. Outstanding.

9) 1999 VOLNAY SANTENOTS-DU-MILIEU 1er Cru DOMAINE DES COMTES LAFON Sturdy like the Champans vineyard but very full rich depth almost lush from a vineyard that has an earned reputation for long successful aging. A very special vineyard in the Meursault commune approved as red Volnay. Another beauty from the 1999 vintage. Pure joy to monitor it going from strength to strength.

Our leader Ian Mottershead read some appropriate quotes from Stay Me With Flagons by Maurice Healy (close friend of our Founder Andre Simon) on “the greatest of them all” a miracle 1889 Volnay-Caillerets!

Certainly Volnay 1er Cru showed what it is capable of delivering here. Exceptional where the top vintages of 2005 & 1999 provide the extra fruit intensity to back that unique delicacy. Also in that surprising 2017. Recommend following Volnay more closely. You will be delightfully amazed.