Volnay, Clos des Ducs, 1er Cru, 2016
As impressive as the 2016s are in this cellar, with Clos des Ducs you find an extra gear. Here you approach the depth of more concentrated vintages such as 2015 but in a brighter more agile form. One of the more complex, layered and sophisticated 2016s you will find. Suave loganberry, griotte, bramble and plum fruit mixed with cool earth and stone notes. The depth of flavour and minerality of this wine is distinctive. There is a reserved, refined power here and the haunting finish suggests a great deal more is to come from this wine with time. Sheer class. The 52 ‘ouvrees’ or 2.15 hectares that this great Clos vineyard spans, measure exactly the same as in the early part of the 16th century, its earliest recorded mention. The poor soils and steep, well drained slope of this limestone /marne vineyard tilts towards the south and south-east. The wines typically boast contrasting elegance and structure. Complex and harmonious, they have a great ageing capacity.
critic reviews
Bright, deep red. Deeper-pitched on the nose than the young 2017, offering aromas of cherry, blueberry, menthol and licorice and an impression of medicinal reserve. A juicy, spicy, impeccably balanced midweight with outstanding clarity and cut and an enticing touch of sweetness leavened by spiciness. Plenty of tannin/acid spine here to frame and carry the fruit through a long, rising, floral finish. This tightly wound beauty shows the sappy quality of the vintage's better examples and should be long-lived. It would be a shame not to give it at least four or five more years of cellaring, if not eight or ten. (13.05% alcohol; September 25 harvest; 45 h/h; 3.39 pH; from what Guillaume d'Angerville described as a good crop, as this vintage escaped the frost, whose effects, he said, did not extend higher than 260 meters: Clos des Ducs is 300 to 325 meters above sea level, with very good air flow to dissipate frost)