La Pousse d'Or - Volnay 1er Cru 'Caillerets' 2018

Domaine de la Pousse d’Or for decades has been the collector’s choice for expressive wines from Burgundy’s most hallowed terroirs, and is unquestionably one of the Burgundian elite. Not every estate can claim the king of France as a previous vineyard owner; fewer still can count six grand crus and three monopole vineyards under one roof.

Every winter for years we’ve visited the Landanger family’s stately château in Volnay to sample their new vintage. The moment you step into the estate’s underground caves you are transported to another century. The worn, warped brick floor clearly has weathered generations of winemakers treading from barrel to barrel; vaulted ceilings overhead feel more cathedral than wine cellar.

Originally called La Bousse d’Or (Bousse, in old French, means earth; thus, “golden earth”), the domaine in the late 1800s was part of a much larger estate that included two well-known vineyards: Romanée-Conti and Clos de Tart. The name ‘La Bousse d’Or’ hasn’t completely disappeared; it is carried by a walled vineyard in Volnay and is one of the estate’s monopoles—a vineyard with a single owner—that from the mid-fifteenth century onward, belonged to the king of France. (After the revolution, granted, things changed a bit.)

Entrepreneur Patrick Landanger purchased Pousse d’Or in 1997, at a point when the estate seemed to have most of its glory days behind it. Patrick poured endless energy (and a good amount of investment) into the estate, acquiring new vineyards as well as reinventing how the estate made its wines, from reorganizing the cellar to work completely via gravity to even inventing his own “ouilleurs,” or airlocks for barrels that allow a winemaker to also top up a barrel easily.

Sadly Patrick Landanger passed away in 2023 after a long illness. His son, Benoît Landanger, now runs the estate—and is as much a talented, passionate visionary as was his father. Pousse d’Or remains in very good hands. Indeed, this dynamic estate has never been content to rest on its historic laurels. The family has gone to great lengths to ensure that the winery lacks for nothing when it comes to crafting quality Burgundy. And having farmed organically from the start, the estate since 2014 has worked the fields biodynamically, another feather in its quality cap.

When vines begin to sprout early buds in the spring, the French say, “Ça pousse.” Pousse d’Or Burgundy captures this sort of urgent energy, this desire to spring forth and dazzle. Benoît Landanger crafts his wines as naturally as possible; juice and wine are moved via gravity, and are bottled unfined and unfiltered in sync with the lunar calendar. Aromas are bold, tending toward black fruits and spice; the palate is textured, silky, always very long. These bottles are gorgeous right out of the gate and only get better, often for decades.

East-facing, ‘En Caillerets’ is ideally positioned; stony, rich in marl and limestone, the site’s high percentage of clay is also believed to contribute to the wine’s supple mouthfeel.

This is a library wine released is 2026.

Producer: La Pousse d'Or

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Appellation: Volnay 1er Cru

Vintage: 2018

Size: 750ml