The Drouhin domaine 2006 Volnay Clos des Chenes suggests – as do a number of other wines of the vintage from this high, rocky site – its special difficulties in ripening. It displays bright tart cherry fruit, but with a slightly vegetal undertone; fresh ginger, but also a slightly radish-like bite. A chalky underlying character accentuates the sense of austerity here. That noted, this does not become obstreperously tannic, and it finishes with penetrating length. This might be more accommodating on another occasion, so I leave open that door, but decline to prognosticate about longer-term potential.
"I was skeptical when the harvest came," says Philippe Drouhin about 2006, "because the weather had been so hectic; we had to sort the grapes; and it was not as nice as '05. But the more I tasted the '06s in the course of the year, the more I liked them." Winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac says he was hyper-cautious about avoiding the extraction of bitterness or under-ripeness, and employed vendange entier (whole clusters with stems) on a significant share of the grands (and top premiers) crus, but only in conjunction with rigorous table-sorting. Most came in at 13-13.5% potential alcohol. The wines were bottled about as early as they ever have been at Drouhin, to preserve and avoid drying out the fruit. (Just as elsewhere in this report, I have frequently indicated in my tasting note whether the source of grapes is the family's domaine or contract fruit, but have not attempted to reflect this as part of the descriptions used to identify the wines.)
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