My heart belongs to Volnay

11:23am Friday 8th December 2000

THERE will always be a place in my heart for Volnay. Home of some of the best red Burgundy on the Cote de Beaune, Volnay was one of my earliest cellar visits.

Prior to that I had been privileged enough to enjoy several bottles while on holiday down on the Cote D'Azur. The simple wine list at our hotel carried a handful of red Beaujolais, including Fleurie, one off vintage claret and two red Burgundies. Of course there was white, rose and Champagne but for dinner we invariably chose red.

One Burgundy was a hideously expensive Cote de Nuits while the Volnay was comparative in price to the Fleurie. In our relative inexperience we simply rotated the affordable reds each evening. After a week it was obvious which wine we preferred. There was never enough Volnay but we always had a drop or two of the others left.

My delight at finally visiting this small village nestled half way up the Cote was immeasurable. There in the dank, cobweb filled cellar we tasted (drank actually) several vintages of perfect, limpid , fragrant Volnay and fell in love.

It is said that Volnay is a feminine wine and I can see the attraction in such a simplistic if sexist view. It is certainly one of the finest, most fragrant and seductive of the Cote de Beaune reds.

Indeed a good Volnay from a top producer in a good year

can be one of the best expressions of great Burgundy. While there are no Grand Cru in this village there are several highly rated Premier Cru.

The village itself is a small collection of grey stone buildings dating back over hundreds of years. They are completely surrounded by a sea of Pinot Noir vines. This most difficult of grape varieties thrives on these gentle slopes.

Unfortunately as with all Burgundy, Volnay is not cheap. The fame of its succulent, seductive qualities has spread far and wide and while there is a ready market in passing Swiss, Germans and Dutch, the big players are now the Americans and the Japanese.

We still get some decent examples over here but all too often the wines are simply too young.

A well made Volnay can be all too easy to drink when in its heady youth but a few years restraint will repay the buyer with a full, gamey Pinot Noir experience that once it has been tasted will never be forgotten.

There are a couple of neighbouring villages that have received slightly less acclaim and therefore offer a glimpse of the Volnay style without the price tag. Monthelie, just around the bend of the slope and Auxey Duresse can approach the quality of a decent Volnay but will never reach the heights of a great one.

From a trusted grower, either will be a good wine and that is another key element in choosing your wine. The name of the growers on the bottle is a clear indicator to the wine in the bottle. An old friend of mine opens the "French Windows" from his dining room right onto his vineyard.

He is well and truly steeped in Volnay and his passion comes through in his wines. His name is Boillot, but he is not the famous one who has the big house at the front of the village.

Confusingly there are several Boillots and even a Voillot or two.

There are relatively few examples of good Volnay on the market at the moment. In such instances it is always a good idea to seek out some of the more traditional wine merchants.

Corney and Barrow of London, Lay & Wheeler of Colchester and Adnams of Southwold all have some good examples.

Closer to home Asda have a fairly tight knit 1998 from Peyrache while Waitrose has two very good wines.

The 1996 Premier Cru les Chevret comes from J.M. Boillot at £25.00 while the sublime Premier Cru les Caillerets 1996 is from the top class Domaine de la Pousse d'Or at £32.00.

The Wine Society has some bottles of the latter from the 1993 vintage at the same price.

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