Remoissenet’s solo barrel of 2007 Volnay comes from the exposed, nose-bleed summit of the village and a site they cropped to the almost absurd equivalent of 8 hectoliters per hectare. Veteran Volnay vigneron Jean-Pierre Charlot of Joseph Voillot teased Remoissenet’s Pierre Rovani that this was the first time in their long history that those vines had ripened a crop (picked September 10)! The result will not soon be forgotten by however few folks are able to taste this, although its Riesling-like sense of acidity and enervating fruit-mineral interplay won’t be everyone’s cup of red Burgundy. Tart red currant and cherry are laced with lemon zest, white pepper, chalk, salt, cherry pits and fresh ginger, with mouth-watering refreshment, tongue-curling piquancy, and rapier penetration the order of the day. Who knows how this extreme exercise in Pinot will age, but if you drink it young, expect its talents at table to be singular. Remoissenet owns a significant share of Pinot Noir acreage in both Cotes, to which they will be adding, in contrast to their circumstances with Chardonnay, wherein their control over a large share of Montrachet is unique, and represents the bargaining chip employed to acquire fruit or young wines as a negociant. (For further details on the “new Remoissenet” begun in 2006, its evolution and its personnel, please consult my report on their 2007 vintage whites in issue 189.) The low yields and late harvest to which the team here pledges allegiance has led to two impressive collections. With regard to my speculations concerning longevity, bear in mind that no track record has yet been established under the current regime, the upbringing of pre-2006 wines under the Remoissenet label being utterly irrelevant. Importers: Bertin Henri Selections, Doral, FL; tel. (305) 392 6995, Cavatappi Distribuzione, Seattle, WA; tel. (206) 292 5226, Dark Star Imports, New York, NY; tel. (646) 312 8921, Simon N Cellars, Charlottesville, VA; tel. (434) 977-4476.