2009 Volnay Santenots

The 2009 Volnay Santenots is a brilliant, focused wine endowed with gorgeous length and fabulous balance. Crushed flowers, sweet spices and bright red cherries are some of the notes that emerge from this mid-weight, gracious Volnay. The finish is long, subtle and perfumed, with hints of sweet tobacco, licorice and anise. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. I tasted an impressive range of wines with Jacques Lardiere and his successor Frederic Barnier, who is slated to take over when Lardiere retires at the end of 2012. Jadot makes a mind-bending number of wines, but I limited myself to the best 35 or so examples. In 2009 Jadot began harvesting on September 6. All of the reds were made from 100% destemmed fruit. Maceration times varied from wine to wine, but according to Lardiere all of the wines were made with essentially the same approach. Lardiere is another of the producers who compares 2009 to 1959, and believes the wines will age well because of their density of fruit and minerality. Many of the estate’s own vineyards are farmed biodynamically, but of course Jadot also sources a significant amount of wine from other growers that is not necessarily from biodynamically farmed vineyards. Importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, NY; tel. (914) 253-7756

(13.5% alcohol) Good full red. Expressive aromas of cherry, menthol, minerals and crushed stone, complemented by a ripe chocolatey nuance. Sweet and silky but with grip and energy. Good breadth to the medicinal red cherry and spice flavors. Finishes with good length. I got the feeling Lardiere thought he should have done even more saignee here.