Layers of intense, graphite-infused minerality underpin the 2012 Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu. Black fruit, tar, spices, violets and lavender all flesh out in the glass. Here, too, the Santenots is deeply marked by the pure intensity and richness of the year but there is plenty of energy and structure to balance the wine's more overt leanings. Readers will need to be patient, as the 2012 is going to need time. I also tasted the 2005, a wine that is just beginning to approach the early part of its drinking window. As for the 2012, yields are punishingly low, well in excess of 50%.

Tasted blind at the annual "Burgfest" tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu showed just a touch of reduction, but otherwise there is appreciable blackberry and briary fruit here, tertiary/woodland scents with just a splash of balsamic. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, good backbone, more backward than its peers and probably befitting another 12 months in bottle. Broody perhaps? Yet there is appreciable balance and its sturdiness will soften with time.

Deep, bright red. Dark cherry, espresso and mocha on the nose. Incredibly sweet, round and full, with an almost liqueur-like chocolatey ripeness. Outsized wine from a tiny yield; in fact, Lafon did not declassify the young Santenots vines into a village Volnay in 2012 because this fruit was so concentrated and scarce. Can't quite match the Champans for vibrancy or tension but there's enough energy here for mid-term aging. Incidentally, following the 2011 Santenots, I also retasted the 2010 and 2009. The former wine is like a baby 2005 and is dominated by its tannins today, while the 2009 showed captivating, liqueur-like sweet fruits and outstanding high-toned intensity. It has the density and length to age, but it's utterly silky and seductive right now.