Armand Heitz Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds 2022

Armand Heitz Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds comes from one of the finest premiers crus of Volnay, high on the slope on very stony ground.

The name is usually explained by the state of the vineyard floor: taillepieds, cut feet, for the sharp limestone fragments that cover the surface. The site sits above Carelle sous la Chapelle on thin soil over hard rock and is consistently ranked with Caillerets and Clos des Chênes among the best in the commune. Volnay itself holds no grand cru yet has long been regarded as the most elegant red wine village of the Côte de Beaune. Armand Heitz took over his family's vines in the 2010s and farms organically, with a regenerative approach that brings livestock, trees and hedgerows back into the vineyards.

Decant and serve at cellar temperature with duck, game birds or roast lamb, and allow it five to ten years to show at its best.

*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, Tensile
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: Thin, rocky soils high on the slope above the village
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. Taillepieds is a premier cru high on the slope above the village, and its name is generally taken as a reference to the stony ground that made the vineyard hard going underfoot. The thin, rocky soils there give some of the most tensile and long lived wines in Volnay. 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.