2016 Volnay Santenots du Milieu

The 2016 Volnay Santenots-les-Milieu 1er Cru has a complex and engaging bouquet with hints of meat juices and black olive filtering through the mixture of red and black fruit. There is plenty of Volnay character here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, juicy and ripe with black cherries, raspberry and hints of spice towards the finish. Wonderful cohesion here from start to finish, with a caressing aftertaste, this is a beautifully crafted Volnay from Dominique Lafon. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting in Burgundy. (DIAM 30 closure)

Bright crimson. Slightly reticent nose – no bad thing in a young burgundy – but lots of density and potential with a fine balance between ripe fruit, acidity, and still quite a bit of fine tannin. Utterly Volnay. (JR)

A brooding and overtly floral nose combines notes of rose petal, violet and lavender with those of spiced plum, red currant and a whiff of earth. Lafon's Santenots is typically a fairly muscular wine but in 2016 it is more a wine of refinement though I stress that there is excellent concentration and punch on the impeccably well-balanced finish that flashes just a hint of austerity. Despite the refinement, make no mistake that this is a firmly structured wine that should be capable of aging effortlessly for years.