95/97

The 2010 Volnay Clos des Ducs is a wonderfully complete wine. Layers of sculpted, chiseled fruit flow gracefully as the Clos des Ducs opens up in the glass. Dark red cherries, licorice, spices and cedar are given an attractive lift by the expressive floral notes that are woven throughout. This is a beautifully centered, poised wine that impresses for its purity and focus. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040.

96 point

Good medium red. Captivating aromas of black cherry, dark raspberry, minerals and flowers have shed the reductive character that made this wine difficult to taste shortly after the bottling. Juicy, penetrating and wonderfully elegant, delivering outstanding flavor intensity without any impression of heaviness. Red berry, red cherry and flowers dominate the middle palate, with an element of saline minerality expanding with air. Really stains the palate and titillates the salivary glands on the very long, rising finish. This wine is so well-balanced that it's delicious right now, but it has the solidity, sappiness and tannic structure for a slow and graceful evolution in the cellar. A transcendent premier cru. (14.1% alcohol; September 23 harvest; 3.5 pH; a major attack of oidium in Clos des Ducs in August resulted in a crop level of just 19 hectoliters per hectare, according to Angerville, who noted that the younger vines in the upper part of the vineyard were particularly affected) 2019 - 2042

94 point

Good bright red, a bit less saturated than the Champans. A whiff of smoky reduction dissipates to reveal aromas and flavors of cherry, raspberry, herbs and underbrush. Thick, creamy and highly concentrated, conveying an impression of solidity but with outstanding lift too. A seriously tannic and deep Volnay with a big structure and outstanding length. This one calls for a decade or more of cellaring.