Guillaume and Sarah Glantenay
Volnay, Burgundy

Sitting with Sarah Glantenay in the cellar that she and her brother Guillaume built, in a quiet corner of Volnay up the hill from the Cave de Ducs, it is hard to overstate the palpable determination here–a determination brought to bear in the service not of commercialism, but of artisanal work, honoring a long but interestingly latent history in some of the great terroirs of Volnay, Pommard, Chambolle, and more. Though in some ways a new address, for lovers of the old-school–that is, of detailed, complete, and distinctive Burgundy–the wines of Domaine Georges Glantenay will be a reminder not only of what was, but can be. This side of the Glantenay clan has for five generations farmed vines in and around Volnay, that locale best known for profound elegance alongside requisite concentration. But here only a few generations have bottled, and until Guillaume elected to engage in winemaking beginning with the 2014 vintage, the majority of vineyard holdings had been rented out. Farming here has always been excellent, however, with a bevvy of old vines well past their half-century and a family preference for massale selections for propagation. But recognizing the quality of their family’s holdings, Sarah and Guillaume chose to speak up for their family’s vineyards upon the conclusion of leases, building a new cave for vinification and aging, and engaging in the work of communicating the specificity of Volnay’s terroirs like few can. Here, at Glantenay, one can taste the differences of Volnay 1er crus from end to end: Santenots and Robardelle toward Meursault; Le Ronceret in Volnay’s center; and Les Brouillards at the cusp of Pommard. Their holdings extend into Pommard, Meursault, and even Chambolle, where a minute plot of Chambolle Les Feusselottes planted in the 1940s completes a compelling picture. The differences between all these plots are striking, of course, made so in part by the transparent style of Guillaume’s winemaking. Fruit is generally picked on the earlier side and de-stemmed, rigorously sorted and treated quite delicately in fermentation, with a strong preference for pumping over to infuse the grapes rather than extract excessive tannins. Aging generally in 20% new barrel or less. Each wine bottled with its production, the results speak for themselves: wines thatare transparent yet serious, composed but engaging, already delicious but worthy of time in the cellar. - Randal Bush Loci Imports