here has always been Perrins in Volnay. At least if you by always mean for the past 600 years or so. Guillaume Perrin is the fifth generation to vinify at Domaine Perrin, a seven hectare estate. Red is the dominating colour, with a premier cru monopole as the crown jewel.

– I might not have done things in the right order, says Guillaume Perrin. Many start out with a love for the vines, the vineyards, but I was initially more interested in the commercial side of this business, selling the wine. But eventually I gravitated towards vinification. Now I love the harvest and vinification period.

Space is limited in Volnay and Domaine Perrin is no exception. With its narrow alleyways the village leaves very little room for expansion. In most cases the cellars are small and cramped.

Guillaume Perrin has been responsible for the vinification at the domaine since he took over from his father, Vincent Perrin, in 2014.

– I have been working with my father on and off since 2008, when I was 18 years old. I left to study in Bordeaux for three-four years. I’m still working with my father. Nowadays he is mainly dealing with the vineyards, whereas I am taking care of the vinification and the commercial side of the domaine.

There are only two white wines at Domaine Perrin. A Bourgogne Aligoté and a village appellation Meursault from l’Ormeau.

– Meursault l’Ormeau is below the village, says Guillaume Perrin. When you go down from the village centre you have Jean-Marc Roulot on your left and then the Château de Meursault on your right, which is where l’Ormeau is.

– The soil is deeper there. It is not entirely flat. It is difficult to see, but there is a tiny slope. Meursault is a rich wine and my aim is to have some freshness in the wine. Typically a Meursault is quite fat, something which quickly can become heavy.

The age of the vines at Domaine Perrin is quite high. The Meursault vines are 50 years old. The average age at the domaine is 70 years and the oldest are the Pommard vines, 115 years.

– The benefit of this is that we always have very concentrated grapes. The grapes are small, so it means that quantities are low. The yield is about 38 hl/ha.

In order to produce the seven wines of Domaine Perrin there are 35 plots of vines adding up to seven hectares.

– This is what Burgundy is like. Here we don’t have a single plot covering three hectares. Instead we have 35 plots spread out over six square kilometres, covering the villages of Pommard, Volnay, Monthélie, Meursault and Saint-Romain.

Since his arrival Guillaume Perrin has changed the winemaking style of the domaine. His father produced tannic, big wines. Those were bottles which required many years of ageing in the cellar before they became approachable. Guillaume Perrin thinks it’s a pity that people in general cellar their wines to a much lesser extent today. As a result he is making wines that are more approachable young.

The Pommard Chanlins at Domaine Perrin is a village appellation wine. You’ll find Chanlins south of the village, next to Rugiens and bordering on Volnay. The upper part, Chanlins-Hauts, is village appellation, while the lower part, Chanlins-Bas, is split in two – one village appellation part and one premier cru part.

– We have three plots in Chanlins. The oldest was planted 115 years ago. There is an interesting story to one of the plots. My grandfather met the owner. At the time the plot was not planted. It was just trees and bushes. The owner said my grandfather could have it if he cleared it and planted vines. My grandfather did that and later it became part of the Pommard appellation. Today something like that would be unthinkable.

30-40 years ago Guillaume Perrin’s parents began developing the commercial side of the domaine. The previous generation had sold very little wine in bottle. Today 30 per cent is sold at the cellar door or at wine fairs, 30 per cent is sold to restaurants and wine merchants and 30 per cent is exported.

– The remaining ten per cent is saved for our vinotèque, says Guillaume Perrin. Small quantities are kept in order to be able to sell older vintages to restaurants, wines that are ready to drink.

La Gigotte is one of Volnay’s smaller premier crus. Just 0.54 ha. It is squeezed in between Carelle sous la Chapelle and Les Mitans at the bottom of the slope.

– It’s a wine with lots of complexity, says Guillaume Perrin. Liquorice and black fruit. In a year like 2019 it demands a lot of time in the cellar. Production is very limited. An average year we make about 1300 bottles.

– Mitans, our other Volnay premier cru, is more approachable than La Gigotte if you are less experienced. It is fine, fruity and straightforward. The soil is ferruginous-clay and limestone.

– Higher up on the slope you are very close to the bedrock. As you go downhill the clay portion in the clay-limestone mix increases. Still, in La Gigotte you hit the bedrock quite quickly. The vines were all planted at the same time, some 70-75 years ago.

At this point not all grapes stay at the domaine. Some are sold to négociants. That goes for both the Bourgogne blanc and the Bourgogne rouge. And there are a few premier crus which go the same way.

– In addition to the Volnay premier crus we bottle ourselves we also have Carelle sous la Chapelle, Robardelle and Les Lurets. All three are very small, so we are talking micro-vinfictations here, which we don’t have the tools for.

– We also have Pommard Vaumuriens. It produces a much more rustic wine than Pommard Chanlins, and because of that it requires much longer élevage. I need to have a quicker turnaround at this time.

These wines may be added to the Domaine Perrin portfolio in the future. But for that to happen a new winery is required, and that is not possible in Volnay where space is scarce. At the time when Guillaume Perrin’s grandfather was making the wine at the domaine micro-cuvées were an unknown concept. He pulls out a bottle of 1971 Volnay to illustrate this.

– At the time there wasn’t a Gigotte or a Mitans, he says while opening the bottle. My grandfather would blend all grapes from each village. So there was just one Volnay and one Pommard.

© 2024 Ola Bergman