Volnay, 1er Cru Chevret
Terroir
I call this my ‘little goat’ as the name may derive from a field where goats were kept. There is reddish clay over a bedrock of Oxfordian and Argovian limestone…it’s more crumbly. Chevret lies beneath the slope of Les Cailllerets on a gentle incline at 200-250m, beside En Caillerets. The upper section has plenty of small stones and a thinner top soil, more like the soil in Caillerets. The lower, flatter part has a deeper top soil, red clay over a band of mother rock. The clay gives the sweetness and roundness. It contains the washed down lighter debris from the steep slope above, so it’s not heavy. My grapes are from a massale selection of 40 year old vines in the lower part of Chevret giving me the opportunity of making two neighbouring premier cru. In 2018 the stony parcel of Santenots, despite kid gloves in the winery, is reserved, while my Chevret is fragrant, softer and more forthcoming. So close and so far. So Burgundian.
Domaine
The enterprising and indefatigable Nico Rossignol is the 5th generation of the Rossignol-Jeanniard branch of the Volnay Rossignols. He established his own domaine in 1997 with 3 hectares. This has grown to over 17 hectares in the Côte de Beaune focusing on red wine.
Nico is someone who generously shares his knowledge and experience, not just with me, but with many. He identifies and embraces the positives of changing character of Burgundy and punchily bridges the ground between the ‘tradition’ and the ‘new.’ Hence his fab, functional and finely designed winery complements the traditional and painstaking work in the vineyard.
There is no better place to taste Volnay and Pommard from a range of premier cru than this cellar. Nico also has a cult following for his Bourgogne, Cuvée Héretière, made from very old vines and staying regional, this ‘red’ domaine has a delicious Bourgogne, Aligoté.
Most of the 6.35 hectares of En Chevret belongs to the extended Rossignol family. Nico corrals the family fruit into his cellar and so Chevret is largely seen under his label, giving this most satisfying and harmonious of Volnay, an almost one shot exposure. Hence it is not as famous as neighbouring Caillerets and Santenots. Now I have an exciting opportunity to communicate the personality of this vineyard.
In the Winery
Chevret is 100% de-stemmed. There were about 1000kg of fruit and I made it in a larger tank than the Santenots. I kept the cap wet for the first few days, just with buckets of juice taken from the low tap. After about 6 days I ‘woke it up’ with a pigeage to get the fermentation started and hopped in the tank three days later when temperature reached 25 degrees. After this it had either a gentle pigeage or remontage every day for a week with a final rack and return to finish off the sugar. I left it for 3 days to let the tannins condense and then pressed. It is was matured in one and two year old Cavin barriques.
Style and When to Drink
While limestone encourages a straight wine, Chevret has some clay, which brings charm and sweetness to the palate. The style is a flattering blend of Caillerets and Santenots. You cannot help liking Chevret. It has a delicate perfume and lightly plump allure. It brings together some of the generosity of Santenots with a nod to the textural finesses of Caillerets, but with texture of soft satin rather than fine silk. It can show a touch of minerality and a light fragrance on the finish, depending on the vintage. It is beguiling.
With almost 2 years bottle age (it was bottled in April 2020) the perfume is expressive – delicate and floral. Given the soft texture, supple tannins and succulent fruit, it is quite forward and you can start drinking this now (in 2022) if it is decanted. It has settled nicely and is enjoyable is fruitiness, but if you like wines with more complexity there is plenty of capacity to mature further for tertiary characters.
Vintages Made
2018 vintage. The hot 2018 summer has given Chevret a nicely rounded and lightly seductive palate with rather fine supple tannins. It’s undoubtedly ripe, but with nicely balanced freshness. 2018 is a vintage with substance. One to put away in the cellar to realise the true potential. There was insufficient fruit available for me to make this in 2019, which was a vintage of smaller yields.