Volnay Clos des Santenots Premier Cru

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Vintage 2021

"Unimaginable and unthinkable"
A period of excessive heat at the end of March 2021 resulted in an early bud break, but the unthinkable was confirmed during the nights of 6 to 8 April with the return of winter in force (temperatures of -7°C / -8°C and snowfall). The frost damage to the buds was unmistakable and the losses observed were very significant.
With a cool and sunny spring, the vines had a lot of difficulties in coming back to life. The sudden return of heat in June caused flowering to be too quick, which led to heavy couluring / flower abortion and a further loss of harvest.
July saw significant rainfall and disease pressure was relentless. So work in the vineyards had to be managed with great precision. August was rather dry with cool nights, and veraison was difficult to start. A strong heterogeneity of maturity was noted between the vines that were heavily frosted and those less affected by the frost. Regular ripeness checks are compulsory to determine the right date for harvesting.
Harvesting began on 22 September.