2020 Volnay, Jean-Yves Devevey, Burgundy

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

The finest and most elegant red wines of the Côte de Beaune are grown in Volnay, a village which might be twinned with Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte de Nuits, for the high active chalk content in the soil and comparatively low clay content. Whereas in earlier times Volnay was made in a particularly light, early drinking style, these days there are many producers making wines which age extremely well.

You wouldn’t know it from his laid-back manner, but Jean-Yves Devevey is a busy man. Built from scratch, his domaine today amounts to eight hectares of vines. His holdings can be described as “diminutive but demanding”, especially when one considers his exacting standards, including organic farming. A popular figure among his fellow Burgundian winemakers, Jean-Yves is also something of a maverick, who has been flying the flag for low-sulphur wines since 2010. Moreover, he’s the only Burgundian we work with to have planted Savagnin – sadly, the wine is not for sale.