I’ll steer clear of gender stereotyping here and just call this wine pretty. Very pretty. As in, “Now I know why people go gaga over Burgundy” pretty. This is one of the best young bottles of Volnay I have tasted in many years. Thanks to the near perfect 2014 vintage, it is open and vivacious now, but will only become more complex and layered with a few more years in the cellar. We are big fans of Ballot-Millot’s Charles Ballot, who, since taking the reins from his father in 2001, has not only introduced more sustainable farming practices but—and perhaps there’s a causal relationship here—has continued to raise the bar and amass critical acclaim with each new vintage. While Ballot is known first and foremost for fine-tuned Meursaults from the greatest Premier Cru real estate in the village, he has an equally deft touch with reds. It’s worth mentioning that this estate is a rare bright spot for value in Burgundy as well. Ballot-Millot’s reds, like their whites, remain underpriced given such exceptional quality (especially in this superlative 2014 vintage). This Premier Cru red overperforms by every measure—it’s a brilliant buy that must not be missed by any Burgundy collector who seeks the best of the best!

Ballot farms about 10 hectares of vineyards, the majority of which are in Meursault; his holdings in Volnay include small pieces of the premiers crus “Taillepieds” and “Santenots,” the latter measuring just under a hectare and boasting 40-year-old vines. The Santenots vineyard is an interesting one: It is located in the village of Meursault and is planted to both red and white grapes; the reds fall under the red-specific Volnay appellation, the whites under Meursault. The soils of the site riff on the classic clay/limestone mix, showing a reddish tint that indicates a high iron content. Along with “Taillepieds,” this is one of the star crus of Volnay, and Ballot did it proud in ’14—this is opulent, eye-opening stuff, with exquisite perfume and lots of sappy fruit.

Sourced from Ballot’s .85-hectare piece of Santenots, which is farmed according to the organic-leaning lutte raisonnée methodology (which allows chemical intervention only in emergencies), the grapes for this wine were completely destemmed before fermentation on indigenous yeasts. The wine was aged in French oak barriques, and, like all of Ballot-Millot’s wines, the use of new barrels is minimal—in this case, about 15% were new. After 11 months in barrel the wine was placed back in tanks for about 4 months’ further aging; this, combined with Ballot’s judicious use of new oak, resulted in a wine of pure fruit and soil expression, with the oak spice just a faint accent note.

In the glass, Ballot-Millot’s 2014 Volnay “Santenots” is a highly concentrated ruby red in the glass, with slight pink highlights at the rim. The nose is deep and expressive, immediately indicative of something serious: ripe red and black cherries, wild strawberry, rhubarb, violets, and a hint of baking spice all jump from the glass. Whereas a lot of young Volnay can be lean and rustic, this has a generosity of fruit that makes it a lip-smacking pleasure to drink now; it’s a testament to the 2014 vintage that this is lush and well-rounded but also blessed with the underlying structure to lay down for a while longer. It is, however, awfully seductive right now—decant it about 45 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems between 60-65 degrees. The elegance and silken texture this wine delivers at this price is simply not the norm, and I’d strongly recommend grabbing multiple bottles. It will be a brilliant companion to game birds, Thanksgiving turkey, and other delicate woodland creatures (including wild mushrooms for the vegetarians!). It’s a really serious (and seriously seductive) glass of red Burgundy. Cheers!