Size: 3.9 ha (9.64 ac)
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vine Age: Planted in 1944, 1962, 1965, 1978
Terroir: East-facing, shallow red clay soil, hard limestone substrate: a sunny, early-ripening site
Viticulture: Organic (certified), biodynamic
Vinification: 100% de-stemmed, cooled (12-15°C), 4-6 days' whole-grape maceration, 10 days' indigenous yeast fermentation in stainless steel tanks, 1-2 punch-downs per day. 1-2 weeks' settling in tank, gravity transfer to oak barrel (1/3 new). Racking, 18-22 months' aging on fine lees in same barrels, blending in tank.
Becky Wasserman
"Fine depth of colour. The nose from the start suggests that this is a complete wine. Plums as much as dark raspberries, with its clay based weight, a few tannins but in proportion to the fruit, just the right thread of acidity, a fabulous weighty but balanced Volnay Santenots." Inside Burgundy
"2018 is unequivocally a great, great year for the Lafon family’s Santenots du Milieu, and I would not be surprised to see this gorgeous young Volnay eventually age along the lines of the stellar 1978 version (which remains the single finest mature red wine from Comtes Lafon that I have been fortunate enough to drink). The bouquet is pure and stunning, soaring from the glass in a blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, woodsmoke, bitter chocolate, a complex base of dark soil tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off outstanding mid-palate depth, with superb focus and grip, a fine sense of sappiness, great backend mineral drive, fine-grained tannins and a very, very long and complex finish. This will be a great bottle of Volnay in due course." John Gilman
