Georges Glantenay 2020s – Consistent with Glantenay's desire for ultra-fine tannins, the style here is one of elegance and refinement BURGHOUND
Our approach to the vinification, especially given how thick the skins were, was to use a long but very soft cuvaison but we barely touched the fruit using no whole clusters. The idea was to do everything we could to preserve and enhance the freshness and in this regard, we believe that we were successful. While we haven't been at this very long, we think that 2020 is the best vintage we have ever made." I have been following the domaine since the 2016 vintage (their first was 2013), and I would have to agree that 2020 is the best set of wines I have seen from this talented duo. Note that the 2020s will be bottled without fining or filtration BURGHOUND
The style here is dark and concentrated this year but also with grace from very fine acidity. I think this a great range in 2020. BILL NANSON, Burgundy Report
The 2020 red Burgundies are arresting wines. Their deep, saturated hues are immediately striking and without obvious precedent, prompting Bouchard’s Frédéric Weber to trawl through the firm’s archived harvest notes to look for comparisons: he landed on 1929, a vintage therein described as being the deepest-hued of the century (“les robes de siècle”). And their appearance doesn’t lie, for these are undeniably concentrated wines... there are more than a few producers who appear to have produced 2020s that surpass their 2019s, and the potential longevity of 2020 would also appear to exceed that of 2019. WILLIAM KELLEY
[ON THE REDS]...the best 2020s are those with clarity and fluidity, airy despite their cool-fruited concentration – they are marvellous – this would, largely, describe most of the fine domaines of the Côte de Nuits in 2020 – i.e. equivalent to, or sometimes a hint more concentrated than their equivalents in 2019 – seemingly without additional negatives. BILL NANSON, Burgundy Report
Guillaume and Sarah (brother and sister team) are on a roll in recent years. They have been on the watch list for a while now and, to date, they seem to be demonstrating all that potential with aplomb.
I re read my offer for the last two vintages, where I mention the same thing, and I will do so again as it sets the tone for these wines. This is not a new domaine. Georges Glantenay as now run by Sarah and Guillaume and they have set about changing up the pace. A search for purity of expression, elegance and sumptuousness is the name of the game. A more judicious use of wood, gentle, thoughtful, management of the tannins, a softer approach to encouraging the best out of their great vineyards.
The old, oft, unnecessarily brutish Pommards of their parents era are in the rearview mirror. Today they represent the sturdiness of their climats but Guillaume works towards sweeter phenolics which feel immersed in the fruit. They are also crisper than many producers, offering more appealing fruit profiles.
The Volnays are simply a step in the right direction qualitatively. They tend towards a “modern classicism”. The lacey, airy, sweetly perfumed aromas many of us associate with the Village as well as the lip smacking sweetness of fruit, something I recall as the feel of lip balm, but they are more precise, snappy and mineral than so many others.
I wrote in the 2018 offer “Beautiful wines. Buoyant things that reach down into the heart of regionality and capture the red fruited and silken side of the Cote de Beaune. While it would seem as though they are very much in the framework of their communes there is that theme of Pinosity too. Wines for the purists and those for whom elegance and brightness is an important quality in their Burgundy, me included. They aren’t light weights, they just seem to lean in to a more supple camp of Volnay and Pommard than the majority of their neighbours.” No need for me to rewrite the book, that sums up my thoughts on the domaine quite well.
As you can see from the press these have caught the attention of the critics these days. Nanson, who is my go to for many smaller domaines, loves the 2020s and virtually every wine has one of Meadow’s “Outstanding” categories. They are hitting all the right notes at the moment.
These have just arrived.
There is not much at all, sadly. Where there is less than a few dozen I have noted it below.
I have also included a little extra discount for mixed cases. This pricing will not be offered later, should any wine remain, and we publish it online. It is for those Burg nerds who want to snaffle up some of these glorious reds.
Roscoe Halligan-Rose