Volnay 1er Cru "Clos des 60 Ouvrees" - Monopole

Patrick Landanger acquired Domaine de la Pousse d'Or in 1997 and immediately halted the use of new oak on the Clos des 60 Ouvrées, a decision rooted in his conviction that the site's voice was being buried under wood. The name itself tells the story: 60 ouvrées is a medieval Burgundian land measure equating to roughly 2.67 hectares, and this parcel has been a single-owner monopole for generations. The vineyard sits mid-slope in Volnay on a thin skin of limestone-rich, brown clay-limestone soils over fractured Bathonian limestone bedrock, an east-to-southeast aspect that captures morning sun while the elevation — around 280–320 metres — preserves night-time cool and locks in aromatic tension. Vines of significant age produce low yields that concentrate the site's characteristic iron-tinged minerality. In the cellar, fermentation employs a high proportion of whole clusters, extending maceration to extract structure without aggression, followed by aging in Burgundian oak with a deliberately restrained proportion of new wood to keep terroir expression primary. What separates this cuvée from its Volnay peers is the sheer scale of a single contiguous monopole at premier cru level — no blending across sub-parcels, no averaging of exposures. The wine demands patience, typically revealing its full complexity after five to ten years of cellaring.