2018 Volnay, Les Echards, Domaine Sébastien Magnien, Burgundy

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

No relation to the Côte de Nuits Magniens, young Sébastien comes instead from Meloisey in the Hautes Cotes de Beaune – a village whose wines were as well thought of as those of Volnay in the 14th century, and were served at the coronation of King Philip II Augustus in 1180. However to be in the thick of things Sébastien has transferred headquarters to revamped cellars in the middle of Meursault. White wines come from the Hautes Côtes, St Romain and Meursault, the red wines from Volnay, Pommard and the Hautes Côtes including an excellent Clos des Perrières from Meloisey. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.