2012 Volnay Mitans

(100% vendange entier): Good bright, dark red. Black cherry, mocha, smoke and musky chocolate on the nose. Sweet, fat and saline, with good breadth and sap to its flavors of black cherry, spices and herbs. Finishes with subtle soil tones.

The 2012 Volnay Les Mitans is beautifully layered and expressive in the glass. Black cherries, plums, spices and licorice are all framed by firm, incisive Mitans tannins. The 2012 is focused and linear in structure, while the flavor profile is very much on the dark side of the spectrum. Cloves, violets and new leather flesh out on the close.

The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans is 100% whole cluster and is raised in 25% new oak. It has a very expressive bouquet with fresh raspberry and forest floor aromas that shows fine clarity. The palate is structured and symmetrical with bold, brittle tannins on the finish. There is a palpable sense of tension here that bodes well for the future, a Volnay with a bit of “steel”. I was interested to learn that when Hubert de Montille inherited his father’s vines in 1947, it consisted of just three hectares. Over the years he built up both his family’s holdings and his reputation from his base in Volnay, not far from Michel Lafarge, while running a successful law firm in Dijon. During the 1990s he gradually handed over the running to his son Etienne, who was working in the financial sector and his daughter Alix, married to Jean-Marc Roulot. It was during Etienne’s tenure at Credit Foncier that he was charged with running Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet. That was probably when I first met him, somewhere around 1998, the first time accompanied by his father. Etienne is not a man to take things easy. He established a negociant business in 2003 (Les Deux Montille) that is based in the old Bouchard Pere cellars on the outskirts of Meursault, converted the vineyard to organic viticulture in 1995 and then biodynamic in 2005. Though certified by Ecocert in 2012 he has always been less dogmatic about it than others practitioners. The biggest development in recent years is the acquisition of the mouth-watering Thomas-Moillard holdings in 2005 in conjunction with Domaine Dujac and outside investors. If I am to be honest, the rapid changes have made it difficult to keep up with the changes, not that anyone is protesting against improvements. I guess it is just a case of keeping pace with Etienne! Today they tend just over 20 hectares of vine of which three-quarters are either premier or grand cru. See also Chateau du Puligny-Montrachet. As usual, there is a clutch of excellent wines here, each appearing to articulate the vagaries of each terroir with style. Importer: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808