# Volnay Premier Cru "Les Champans" (2023)

- **Producer:** Domaine Joseph Voillot
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Pinot Noir
- **Region:** Burgundy, France
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 13.5%
- **Average price:** €120
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Later
- **Serving temperature:** 15–17 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, raspberry, strawberry, violet, rose, vanilla, toast, cedar, leather, forest floor, wet leaves, mushroom

## About this wine

Domaine Joseph Voillot is a classic, multi-generational boutique estate in Volnay, currently managed by Étienne Chaix, nephew of the legendary Jean-Pierre Charlot. The estate is celebrated for its traditional, low-intervention approach, often described as "bon sens paysan" (peasant common sense), avoiding heavy extraction and excessive oak. Often compared to the legendary Mugnier of the Côte de Nuits for their transparent, perfumed style, they craft wines of great purity. "Les Champans" is one of Volnay's greatest Premier Cru vineyards, situated on a prime mid-slope with clay-rich limestone soils that yield a more structured, muscular expression of Pinot Noir.

## Interesting facts

- The estate's vines in Les Champans average 70 years of age, with some blocks planted as far back as 1934.
- Due to its delicate, transparent, and highly perfumed style, critics often refer to Voillot as the 'Mugnier of the Côte de Beaune'.
- In the hot 2023 vintage, a rigorous sorting process was required, discarding 10–15% of sun-scorched berries to maintain fruit purity.

## Food pairing

This structured Volnay Premier Cru requires dishes with earthy complexity and moderate richness to match its high acidity and medium-plus tannins. The wine's bright red fruit and savory undertones pair beautifully with game, poultry, and forest-floor flavors like mushrooms, while its structural grip cuts through the richness of duck or veal without overpowering them.

## Wine making process

The grapes are 100% hand-harvested and undergo rigorous sorting, which was especially crucial in the warm 2023 vintage to remove sun-scorched berries. The fruit is 100% destemmed and lightly crushed. Spontaneous fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled tanks using only indigenous yeasts over a 14 to 18-day maceration period. Extraction is gentle, utilizing twice-daily pump-overs. The wine is aged for 16 to 18 months in French oak barrels, with a low proportion of new oak (under 15%) to preserve terroir expression. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur, sealed with high-grade DIAM 5 corks.