Tour the elegant wineries of France's Volnay village

The village of Volnay, France

In this story: Selling off the vineyards Cultivated with care 'It's rare to be disappointed' Charming hamlet RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Marguerite Thomas
Los Angeles Times Syndicate International

(Los Angeles Times Syndicate International) -- Ironically, the village that is renowned the world over for its unusually elegant red wine is named after a god of water, a Celtic deity called de Volen.

In medieval times it was known as Vollenay, and Thomas Jefferson spelled it Voulenay when he was traveling through France's wine regions. Today we know this small town in the Cute de Beaune district of Burgundy as Volnay. More than half the vineyards here are ranked Premier Cru.

Among today's most revered Volnay wine producers are Michel Lafarge, Pousse d'Or, d'Angerville and de Montille. Bouchard Pere & Fils, the largest producer of Premier and Grand Cru wines in all the Cote d'Or, is one of the oldest and finest establishments here.

Michel Bouchard and his son, Joseph, were 18th-century cloth merchants who passed through Burgundy regularly on their way to and from Flanders. They must have taken a liking to the place, for in 1731 Bouchard father and son underwent a significant career change, relocating to Volnay and establishing themselves as wine merchants.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Where in the world do you want to travel?

In 1791, when France's Revolutionary government began selling off property that had been confiscated from its original owners, the Bouchards took advantage of the situation, purchasing their first vineyards in Volnay.

In those days Volnay had extremely delicate flavors and was pink, a color described as oeuil de perdrix (eye of the partridge). Despite its pallor and delicacy, however, even then Volnay was known for its distinctive and penetrating flavor. Vineyard by vineyard, generation after generation, the Bouchards increased their holdings in Volnay and beyond.

Today, Domaine Bouchard Pere & Fils owns an astonishing amount of land by Burgundy standards: 325 acres of vines, of which 30 are Grand Cru and 185 are Premier Cru. Despite the possession of so many prime vineyards, vintages were erratic and the overall quality of Bouchard wines was seen to slip in the 1980s and early '90s.

According to critical buzz, the family simply didn't have the kind of cash that is necessary to maintain a leadership position in Burgundy, and for a while it was rumored that the Bouchards might generate much-needed income by selling off some of their valuable vineyard land. Instead, in 1995, after nine generations of Bouchard ownership, the family sold the firm to Joseph Henriot.

Volnay -- Ses Grands Vins

Henriot, no stranger to luxury products, is singularly suited to produce expensive high-end Burgundy wine. In addition to owning his family's eponymous firm, Champagne Henriot, he is the former chairman of Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennesy and president of Veuve Cliquot. A dapper bon vivant with considerable charm, Joseph Henriot can also be steely and resolute. He does not flinch when it comes to putting big chunks of money into the Bouchard project; to date, he has already sunk some $20 million into the property.

He has been ruthless in throwing out old stocks of wine from the Bouchard cellars, a necessary purging to prove that he has the desire and the nerves to get things back on track. Bouchard's vineyards are gradually being renovated, improved and generally upgraded. The lifesaving cash transfusion has also given greater scope to the winemaking team (most of whom were already there when Henriot took over) to hire more staff and invest in better equipment. Henriot's goal in all this is not complicated: He wants to reestablish Bouchard Pere & Fils as the preeminent producer in Burgundy.

Besides a desire to check up on Henriot's progress, one thing that took me back to Volnay last summer was the memory of my first visit there. All of us who are passionate about wine have experienced at least one unforgettable vinous encounter that so delighted or amazed or intrigued us that we can still remember details of the setting and the exact aroma and taste of that wine. This magic moment most often occurs unpredictably rather than when a grand vintage or a special cuvee makes an appearance.

My own epiphany took place almost 10 years ago in a small, dark, frigid Bouchard Pere & Fils cellar in Volnay. It was early in the morning when I made my way down dimly lit steps into the cave. Someone had just brought in welcome baskets of warm, mouthwatering gougeres, the wine-friendly, cheese-filled pastry puffs that Burgundians like to munch on. A glass of wine was drawn out of a barrel and placed in my hand. As I raised the glass up toward my face I found myself suddenly enveloped in an intense aroma of violets. This was love at first whiff. Though much too young to be ready to drink, the cool wine tasted pure, fresh and refined even in its infancy. I was completely dazzled.

On a return visit to Volnay, I decided that I must include investigation into what makes this wine so ethereal in style, so different from other red Burgundy. Clearly the specific climate, soils and contour of the land are important. The soils of Volnay, which lie on a limestone base, are among the youngest in the Cote d'Or, about 145 million years old. While the composition of the soils varies from place to place, they are generally lighter in texture than neighboring soils. Volnay sits in a dip in the hills, a fault line actually, formed in Jurassic days when the entire region was an inland sea.

Volnay Taillepieds

I've asked Thierry de Buel, who has been Bouchard's vineyard manager since 1993, to make the rounds of four different Volnay vineyards with me to show me firsthand some of the differences in terroir.

Our first stop is at Fremiets Clos de la Rougeotte, so-called because in autumn this vineyard's leaves are the first to redden. The Clos -- which has only two remaining walls still standing and so is, therefore, no longer actually enclosed -- is planted on a flat shelf of crumbly limestone and clay at the eastern edge of Volnay, facing Pommard. The soil, virtually identical to that of Meursault, the great white Burgundy region that adjoins Volnay in the west, is surprisingly dry here despite underground springs that feed it. The wines produced from this vineyard tend to be rich and velvety, with ripe fruit flavors and soft tannins. They are imminently drinkable when young.

De Buel tells me that the vines in la Rougeotte range from 2 to 50 years old. ``We've selected a variety of different clones in this vineyard,'' he says. ``Some we choose for greater aromas, some for resistance to disease, and so on.''

De Buel obsesses over the health of his vineyards. Like most of France's best viticulturists, he relies far less on chemicals to combat weeds, disease and insect pests than did his predecessors even a decade ago. He believes that vines are stronger and produce better grapes when the vineyard is not hooked on industrial products.

One of de Buel's favorite tools for evaluating the overall health of the vineyards is butterfly traps baited with sex hormones that are placed strategically among the vines; careful monitoring and counting the number of trapped butterflies help determine when and how much (if any) chemical intervention is needed in the vineyards.

From Clos de la Rougeotte, we head west a short distance to Volnay Taillepieds. Planted on a steep slope, this small vineyard has very shallow, well-drained soil that covers a dense limestone bed. Unable to dig down deep, the roots of the vines spread out horizontally not far beneath the surface.

Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin

Bark mulch covers the ground to prevent erosion and retain moisture. As if their character has been affected by the vines' desperate need to avoid drought, the resulting wines demand patience. In their youth they tend to be austere and tannic. They are tighter and more concentrated, but their good structure and obvious breeding indicate that in maturity these wines can be glorious.

Les Caillerets, across the road and downhill from Taillepieds, also has shallow soils. However, because the subsoil in this location is cracked, the roots can snake their way down through the fissures to find moisture.

Gravelly and stony (with more limestone than the other vineyards) the south-facing soils of Caillerets soak up heat from the sun. They are the first to warm up in the spring and the first to be harvested in the fall. The average age of the vines is 20 years. Perhaps because of the predominance of limestone in the vineyard, the wines from Les Caillerets are almost always wonderfully elegant, deeply flavored, complex and dependable.

``It's rare to be disappointed in a Volnay Caillerets from any vintage,'' says de Buel. Most Volnay enthusiasts single out Caillerets as the best of the vineyards.

Our last stop is at Clos des Chenes. The soil here is deep reddish brown and has more clay in its composition than the other vineyards. Because the roots can soak up moisture and nutrients by burrowing farther down into the earth than in the other vineyards, these vines tend to grow more vigorously; in fact, they need to be controlled to prevent them from diluting their power by producing too much fruit.

In mid-summer, vineyard workers will probably comb through the vineyard, thinning out the excess bunches of grapes (this rarely occurs in, say, Taillepieds). Clos des Chenes Volnay tends to be rich, concentrated and fleshy. A classy wine, it is usually the densest Volnay in terms of color, flavor and texture.

The tiny stone village of Volnay, one of the oldest in the Cote d'Or, hunkers down on the hillside looking out over its vineyards. As the hamlet is small, with most of the growers' cellars within a few minutes' walk from the central square, the visitor can explore it in an hour or so. Beaune is another matter altogether. This wonderful medieval town in the heart of Burgundy wine country requires at least a full day to unveil its many charms. Allow a couple of hours just for strolling aimlessly along the narrow cobbled streets and atop the rampart walls encircling the old town.

Stop in at the Bouchard Pere & Fils winery housed in the Chateau de Beaune. This historic medieval fortress was purchased in 1810 by the Bouchard family, who found that the castle's thick stone walls created an ideal environment for wine storage. Some 5 million bottles of wine are housed in these cellars today.

Above all, be sure to visit the most famous of Beaune's ancient buildings, the magnificent, tile-roofed Hotel Dieu, a 15th-century hospital designed to care for the city's impoverished patients as well as its affluent citizens.

I highly recommend a guided tour of the kitchen, the old pharmacy and the medieval wards (where sick patients might be crowded two or three to a bed for warmth). Be sure to pause for a few moments to contemplate the dramatic details of ``The Last Judgment'' by the Flemish artist Van der Weyden -- it is surely one of the world's most remarkable paintings.

Beaune has many hotels and restaurants to delight the traveler. I always enjoy Le Cep, with its small, quirky rooms and its outstanding restaurant named Bernard Morillon, after the chef/owner. On this particular visit I opted to stay out in the countryside in the hamlet of Bouilland at the Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin. This hostellerie also has a fine restaurant (one star in the Guide Michelin), plus a good wine list that includes a handful of Volnays.

There are those who might raise eyebrows at the fact that Volnay has no Grand Cru vineyards. This oversight, however, has more to do with the complicated politics of the Appellation Contrellee system when it was established back in 1937 than with lack of quality. Serious wine drinkers agree that Volnay can be equally ranked with the best of Burgundy.

I have myself been enchanted by Volnay from the moment I first tasted it. To me, Volnay is the most seductive and dependable red Burgundy. Lush and charming rather than muscular and assertive, it is the wine that best expresses the potential finesse and the stunning perfume of the Pinot Noir grape.

(c) 2001, Marguerite Thomas. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate International.

Beaujolais Nouveau on its way
November 14, 2000
Dining in France does not have to cost a fortune
November 1, 2000
Wine lovers to pay more to uncork new French vintage
November 17, 1998
A Stop Along France's Wine Road: Colmar

Burgundy
Volnay: The Vineyards
House of Bouchard Père & Fils
LVMH
Champagne Veuve Clicquot

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.