Champagne Alsace Loire Valley Burgundy Rhône Provence Languedoc Roussillon Southwest Bordeaux

france: burgundy

Domaine Joseph Voillot, Côte de Beaune

This venerable fifth-generation domaine has holdings in the top vineyards of both Volnay and Pommard. Chez Voillot is quite conscientious with their 25 acres of vines. Yields average 36-38 hectoliters per hectare; harvesting is by hand with small bins after a selection in the vineyard, and further selection is made on a sorting table (the selection was especially severe in 2000, 2001, and 2004). It's worth noting that their team of experienced harvesters has remained virtually unchanged for well over a decade. Vinification is done without stems and afterwards the wine is moved by gravity into barrel. In good years, no more than 30% new oak barrels are used for aging the premier crus, and SO2 is kept to a minimum.

Son-in-law Jean Pierre Charlot is now the managing director. He worked closely with Joseph from 1980 to 1995, when the elder man retired. For many years, Jean-Pierre was a professor at the Lycée Viticole in Beaune, where he taught several of Burgundy's rising stars. He's a meticulous man, and what interests him is handling the challenging years when the sum of the parts—the vineyard work, triage at harvest, and careful cellar practices—really pay off.

It's immediately evident when tasting through the domaine's range that these are true vins de terroir (thus the judicious use of new oak), and each wine at every level reflects its origin. It is in Voillot's cellar that the differences between the highly perfumed Frémiets, the earthy, dense, age-worthy Champans, and the elegant yet firmly structured Caillerets become crystal clear. Similarly, the subtle differences among his Pommards are delineated. Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, in their 2004 Classification of the Best Wines of France, write of Charlot's non-interventionist methods: "For many years, Jean Pierre Charlot has vinified some of the finest and most balanced wines of Volnay and Pommard…aging reveals with a high degree of accuracy the type of the year and soil." Anyone who wants to grasp the essence of Volnay and Pommard needs to look no further than Domaine Joseph Voillot.

The purity of Charlot's winemaking inspired restaurant Alain Ducasse in Manhattan to buy six of Voillot's 2000s for a vertical—an honor, for the Ducasse list offers only one vertical at any given time. www.joseph-voillot.com

LES VINS ROUGES

• Bourgogne Pinot Noir: five parcels totaling 5.1 acres whose vines average 47-years-old. They are primarily located immediately below Volnay Village AC vineyards. Press wine from Volnay and Pommard village reds is blended into this wine.
• Volnay: nine parcels totaling nearly 5 acres whose vines average 36-years-old; press wine from Volnay 1ers is blended into this village wine. Note that the largest parcel is Les Grands Poisots at 1.2 acres, which makes the most rustic wine, and is bottled separately. This wine is not purchased by V59.
• Pommard: five parcels totaling 4.7 acres with the vines averaging 46-years-old; press wine from Pommard 1ers is blended into this village wine. Note that the largest parcel is Les Combes at 1.7 acres. Les Combes makes the most rustic and tannic wine, and is bottled separately. It is not purchased by V59.
• Volnay 1er Cru Les Brouillards: .5 acre whose vines date from 1934 and 1945
• Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets: .34 acre whose vines date from 1984
• Volnay 1er Cru Les Champans: 4.2 acres whose vines date from 1934, 1971, and 1985
• Volnay 1er Cru Les Frémiets: 1.5 acres whose vines date from 1932, 1950, and 1978
• Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots: .43 acre whose vines date from 1961
• Pommard 1er Cru Clos Micault: .34 acre whose vines date from 1958. This is the original Voillot family vineyard, purchased in 1870.
• Pommard 1er Cru Les Pézerolles: 1 acre whose vines date from 1963
• Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens: .62 acre whose vines date from 1959. This parcel is located entirely in Rugiens en bas

LES VINS BLANCS

• Meursault Les Chevaliers (lieu-dit): .37 acre whose vines date from 1979
• Meursault 1er Cru Les Cras: .34 acre whose vines date from 1963 and 1980