By Domaine de Bellene
Maison Roche De Bellene Volnay Taille Pieds Premier Cru 2009
HISTORY:
Volnay originates from the name of a man, Volumnius, or has been probably formed from the celtic prefix “vol”, referring to the notion of roundness. (This is probably due to the geographical position of Volnay). The culture of vines already existed in the gallo-roman period. Volnay was at that time the second home of the Ducs de Bourgogne.
Tailles Pieds refers to a steep slope. In the past, people took the risk of pruning their feet (taille pieds) “by digging the soil” with a spade.
THE 2009 VINTAGE:
2009 is a glorious year in many ways: Spring was rather mild. The flowering took place in ideal weather conditions, warm and sunny. Summer was characterized by strong rains, especially in July, where there were thundery storms, unusual for the season. The association of rain and fine weather with frequent heat spikes, settled down from June to mid-August. The end of August and September were gorgeous: the lack of rain, ideal temperatures combined with steady wind, led to perfect maturity along with outstanding phytosanitary state. Harvest took place from the beginning of September. Red wines are charming. Rich and deep, they bring a blissful feeling.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
- Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
- Pruning System: Single Guyot
- Density Of Planting: 10,000 Vinestocks/ha
- Age Of Vine: 48 years old
- Yield: 40 hl/ha
- Vineyard Management: Lutte raisonnee (curative treatment)
- Harvest: manual. Sorting of the grapes in the vineyard.
- Harvest Date: 12th September 2009
- Vinification: partial de-stemming (50%) Smooth crushing. Alcoholic fermentation with natural yeasts. Smooth pumping-overs and treadings.
- Fermentation: 3 weeks.
- Barrel Aging: 14 months. 100% in barrels (50% new oak)
- Bottling: April 2011
- Degree % Vol.:
- Production: 2070 bottles
THE TERROIR
Geographical Situation: Taille Pieds lies next to Clos des Chenes, beyond the Champans.
Altitude: 300 m
Nature Of The Soil: clay-limestone. Steep slope
Vineyard Exposure: east, south/east
By societygrapevine.com
Thu 12 Aug 2010
Nicolas Potel: Burgundian Winemaker and Vigneron
By Toby Morrhall
A member asked for an update on Nicolas Potel. Nicolas has achieved a lot in a very short time, so I thought I would summarize his career chronologically.
Nicolas Potel is a remarkable man, being both hugely talented and possessing exceptional levels of energy and drive...
2007 onwards, Domaine de Bellene (Bellene is the Celtic name for Beaune)
Nicolas parted company with Cottin Freres in 2006/7 to concentrate on his own domaine which now comprises 18ha. He is converting the vineyards to organic cultivation. He bought a characterful, old winery in Beaune where he makes the wines. He is carefully and sympathetically restoring it. The vineyards are principally Bourgogne rouge, St Romain blanc, Beaune Premiers Crus, Savigny-les-Beaune village and premiers crus, Nuits-St- Georges village and premiers crus and a little Vosne-Romanee. 2007, his first vintage, was sold as Domaine Nicolas Potel, but after a legal wrangle he lost the ownership of his name so from 2008 vintage this has been called Domaine de Bellene. He is also making some negociant wines since 2008 under the name Maison Roche de Bellene. His very attractive Bourgogne Rouge Cuvee Reserve 2008 will appear on the October List.
He has made some lovely 2009s from this splendid vintage. We will be offering his Bourgogne Rouge, Cotes de Nuts Villages, Beaune Premier Cru Teurons, Nuits-St-Georges village and premier cru Chaignots in our second 2009 En Primeur offer in February/March 2011.
Nicolas’ style remains very pure. He vinifies with whole bunches when the stems are ripe. He is careful never to over extract nor over oak his wines, allowing the character of the vineyard and vintage to shine through. His elegant yet intensely flavoured wines are a delight to drink. Now he has total control over the vineyards, as he did when working with his father at La Pousse D’Or, one can expect the excellent quality he has already achieved to get even better.
