Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2014 tasting, the 2014 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots from Henri Boillot has a surprisingly simple bouquet that does not really get both hands on the terroir. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly bitter entry, structured, stern and missing some flow on the last third of the wine. However, it seems to improve and gain some manners with aeration, and though there clearly remains new oak to be subsumed, it has the substance to repay those who cellar it for 4-5 years. Tasted September 2017.

The 2013 Volnay les Santenots 1er Cru has a pastille-like bouquet with black cherries and raspberry jam scents that open nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip, a little spicier than the other Volnay premier crus, although it tapers in toward the finish, which left me feeling a little shortchanged.

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru les Santenots du Milieu from Henri Boillot was showing just a little VA on the nose, though not too severe and it give its red berry, cranberry and redcurrant scents a lift a kick up the backside. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy, "stringy" tannin; it is quite saline in the mouth and slightly conservative, foursquare but a nicely controlled finish. Fine, if not best in show.

Tasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. The Volnay les Santenots 1er Cru 2011 from Henri Boillot has a very composed bouquet with well-defined strawberry and raspberry fruit, intermingling with tertiary, woodland scents. This feels natural and composed. The palate is sweet and supple on the entry with fleshy red fruit, impressive depth and well-judged acidity. There is also fine backbone here and a beautifully composed finish full of finesse. Excellent.

The 2010 Volnay Les Santenots is the most refined and impeccable of these 2010 Volnays from Henri Boillot. Ripe, silky tannins buffer the fruit in this sumptuous, impeccably refined Volnay. Floral notes wrap around the deep, persistent finish. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2030. Henri Boillot turned out a superb set of 2010 reds. Best of all, readers won’t have to shell out a fortune to enjoy them, as a number of the more modestly priced wines far exceed the quality of their respective appellations. Yields came in at 20-22 hectoliters per hectare, a 40% decrease over the more typical production of 35 hectoliters per hectare. Boillot began harvesting on September 29 and ended on October 7, among the latest, if not the latest, to finish picking. Fermentations lasted about 29 days on average. Boillot has augmented his holdings with 5 hectares of vineyards that came online in 2010. I tasted all of these wines at Boillot’s cellars in Volnay. Boillot told me he plans to have his new facility in the Champ Lins section of Meursault fully operational for both whites and reds by summer 2012. Importers: Massanois Imports, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 470-6769, Cynthia Hurley French Wines, West Newton, MA Tel 617-965-4251 www.cynthiahurley.com and Chelsea Ventures, LLC, 1601 South Canal St, Chicago, IL 60616 tel. 847-920-5052