Armand Heitz Volnay 1er Carelle Sous Chapelle 2020

Armand Heitz Volnay 1er Carelle Sous Chapelle comes from a premier cru on the mid slope of Volnay, just below the chapel that gives the vineyard its name.

Volnay has no grand cru but a long held reputation as the most graceful red wine commune of the Côte de Beaune, its vineyards running along a narrow band of limestone above the village. Carelle sous la Chapelle lies in the heart of that band, next to Champans and below Caillerets, on shallow stony soil over rock. Armand Heitz took over his family's vines in the Côte de Beaune in the 2010s and has since become one of the more closely watched young growers of the region, farming organically and building a mixed, regenerative farm around the vineyards, with livestock, trees and hedgerows worked in among the vines.

Serve at cellar temperature with duck, roast lamb or feathered game, and give it five years or more in the cellar.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.

Type: Red Wine
Style: Light-bodied, Perfumed, Silky
Grape Varietal: Pinot Noir
Tastes Like: Comparable to a fine, perfumed Pinot Noir, silkier and more floral than the denser reds of neighbouring Pommard
Alcohol Percentage: 13%
Closure: Cork
Size: 750mL
Appellation: Volnay 1er Cru AOC
Region: Volnay, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Terroir: Mid slope beside the village on thin soils over limestone
Aging: Made with a proportion of whole bunches and raised in barrel with new oak used sparingly
Serving Temperature: 15–16℃ – Serve at cellar temperature

Armand Heitz took over his family’s vines in the 2010s, working from Chassagne-Montrachet and Pommard, and farms organically with a regenerative approach that brings livestock, trees and hedgerows back among the vines.

Volnay is the Côte de Beaune’s most delicately built red wine commune, immediately south of Pommard but producing wines of markedly greater perfume and finer tannin, on thinner soils over limestone. Carelle sous la Chapelle is a premier cru on the mid slope beside the village, taking its name from the chapel above it. The reds are made with a proportion of whole bunches and raised in barrel, with new oak used sparingly.

Poultry: Perfect with roast duck, guinea fowl or coq au vin
Game Birds: Excellent with pigeon, partridge or pheasant
Mushroom: Pairs beautifully with morels, ceps or a mushroom tart
Charcuterie: Ideal with jambon persillé, terrines and pâtés

Cîteaux: A Burgundian abbey cheese, supple and gentle beside the wine’s perfume
Chaource: Soft and lactic, complementing the wine’s lighter frame
Saint-Nectaire: Earthy and semi-soft, echoing the wine’s savoury edge
Comté: Nutty and firm, balancing the wine’s fine tannin

Oeufs en Meurette (Poached Eggs in Red Wine Sauce)

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 8 very fresh eggs
• 500ml red Burgundy
• 150g smoked bacon lardons
• 200g button mushrooms, quartered
• 12 small pickling onions, peeled
• 1 French shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 300ml beef or veal stock
• 40g butter, plus 20g softened butter mixed with 20g flour
• 1 bouquet garni
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 thick slices sourdough, toasted and rubbed with garlic
• Salt and cracked black pepper

Instructions:

1. Render the lardons in a pan, then brown the onions and mushrooms in the fat. Lift all three out and set aside.
2. Soften the shallot and garlic in the same pan, pour in the red wine and stock, add the bouquet garni and reduce by half.
3. Whisk in the flour and butter paste a little at a time until the sauce coats a spoon, then strain it and return to a clean pan.
4. Bring a wide pan of water to a bare tremble and add the vinegar.
5. Poach the eggs two at a time for three minutes, lifting them onto a plate lined with paper.
6. Return the lardons, onions and mushrooms to the sauce and warm through. Whisk in the remaining butter.
7. Set two eggs on each piece of toast, spoon the sauce generously over and season.
8. Serve immediately, while the yolks are still soft.

One of the oldest dishes of the Côte d’Or, Oeufs en Meurette suits Volnay particularly well. The wine’s perfume and silky texture sit alongside the egg without overwhelming it, and its bright acidity keeps the reduced wine sauce lively where a heavier red would simply double up on weight.